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Perry Lutheran Homes has stepped up to fill the need of delivering nourishing meals to home-bound elders in Perry and northern Dallas county. Private individual and organization donations are needed to bridge the gap in funding to ensure that the program can continue into the future.

With the unfortunate closure of HomeCare Services Inc. of Dallas County effective August 30, 2019, home-bound elders were left wondering where their next meal would come from. Perry Lutheran Homes was approached by members of the Perry community with the news and request to fill

Perry Lutheran Homes has been awarded the 2019 Public Trust award for the creation, launch and spread of the StepUp Movement to shine a light on elders living in communities who are lonely, afraid, hungry and forgotten. In addition, Perry Lutheran Homes board member, Bill Van Vliete, was honored with the 2019 Board Member of the Year Award.

The weekly senior fellowship meal at the McCreary Center is anticipated to start again in October.

The community of Perry, together with Perry Lutheran Homes, is stepping up in a big way to support Perry’s elderly citizens. On Saturday, July 6, sponsors from Perry and surrounding towns as well as a runners, walkers and rollers came together to raise over $8,000 for the second, annual Run Through Time 5K Fun Run to raise funds for needs of elderly citizens in Perry. In addition, Perry Lutheran Homes, in partnership with the city of Perry, will be supporting the continuation of the weekly, senior fellowship meal held at

Perry Lutheran Homes will be renovating and transforming nine, assisted living apartments back into private, skilled nursing suites at its Willis Campus location. This allows Perry Lutheran Homes to care for more Perry elders in need of a higher level of care and also those in need of rehabilitative therapy. Construction is set to begin this fall with a completion date of early next year.

These nine assisted living apartments at Willis Campus were originally skilled nursing suites; however, in 1999, they were repurposed for assisted living to help people enter

The second, annual Run Through Time 5K fun run or walk is set to take place in Perry on Saturday, July 6 at 7PM in conjunction with other Perry, Iowa sesquicentennial celebration events. This run is presented by Perry Lutheran Homes and continues community-wide efforts to StepUp (Serve Together our Elderly in Perry) and take action to help our local elder citizens in need.

Local businesses, church groups, athletic groups, civic and social groups, families, and friends are encouraged to form teams and join in the fun. The Run Through Time

The StepUp
movement continues its year two rally with the May 30 gathering of one hundred
and forty people from Perry and surrounding communities. The second, annual
Celebration Dinner held at La Poste focused on celebrating Intergenerational
Connections and Elders. Sponsored by Perry Lutheran Homes, through their Board
of Directors, the dinner continued to highlight the blessings and needs of our
elder population.

Local celebrity
and WHO radio personality, Mr. Van Harden, was the evening’s guest speaker.
Harden shared stories about and spoke to the importance of intergenerational
connections and supporting our elder generation. He also helped honor the
evening’s Exemplar

It’s no secret
that positive, older role models are good for the development of children. Or
that mental and physical wellness of seniors is improved when part of positive
social interactions on a regular basis – with people not only of similar age,
but with people and children of different generations. Nearly two years after
Perry Lutheran Homes dared to challenge the notion and common practice that
only elders belonged inside senior care communities, its intergenerational
program is flourishing.

When the average age of those at Perry Lutheran Homes Willis campus is calculated, one arrives at the surprising

Perry Lutheran Homes’ Director of Philanthropy, Wanda Pritzel, along with Acorns & Oaks Christian Daycare Director Tammy Kratz and Site Supervisor Sandy Juergens, joined representatives from 34 other organizations to celebrate the many blessings to our community made possible through the Dallas County Foundation. The annual Grant Recipients dinner was held on April 30 at the Van Meter American Legion Post 403.

This year the Dallas County Foundation granted out $138,753 to non-profit organizations making a difference in Dallas County. We were happy to be selected and receive grants that will

Perry Lutheran
Homes served as the host organization for a “Meals from the
Heartland” meal packing event for the fourth year on Wednesday, May 1.
These meals feed undernourished people primarily in third world countries.

With the help of 300 volunteers in 7 hours, 30,024
meal packs were made on May 1. When combined with another 30,024 in 2018,
24,192 in 2017, and 22,680 in 2016, the four-year total surpasses the 100,000
meal packs complete mark. A grand total of 106,920 meal packs were complete
helping 641,520 people in need.

In addition to
the meal-packing event, 300 volunteers learned about