Silver was on display at the Schuylkill County Courthouse on Wednesday as the Schuylkill Elder Abuse Prevention Alliance prepares for its annual Silver Ribbon campaign for Elder Abuse Awareness Month in May.
SEAPA, a nonprofit organization devoted to preventing and persecuting elder abuse in Schuylkill County, is now in its ninth year of operation. The organization has held its Silver Ribbon campaign since 2008 to raise awareness about elder abuse. Last year, the campaign expanded from a week to the whole month of May.
As part of the campaign, local businesses and community organizations purchase large ribbons to display outside or small ribbons to distribute to customers. This year, SEAPA distributed about 80 large ribbons and more than 2,000 small lapels, according to Carolyn Tenaglia, SEAPA chairwoman and regional ombudsman coordinator with the state Department of Aging.
However, more than 80 businesses are participating in the campaign this year. Tenaglia said a lot of people saved the large ribbons from other years.
Each year, SEAPA sets a goal to sell more lapels than the last campaign. The goal this year was 2,000, which has already been exceeded, Tenaglia said.
"I believe we were successful," Tenaglia said. "It has been a good combination of businesses, churches and offices this year. We had a really nice response from the county courthouse and churches throughout the county. This year, we also branched out and partnered with pharmacies and banks."
On Wednesday, the Schuylkill County commissioners proclaimed May as Elder Abuse Awareness Month in the county.
"I think our ability to connect with the community has allowed us to grow over the last several years," Tenaglia said. "At first, we weren't sure if we were going to be able to meet our mark, but interest has grown and we have more requests for ribbons every year. I feel good about it and think it is a campaign worth continuing."
SEAPA is having a community event today as it hosts training for EMS personnel from 6 to 8 p.m. at St. Clare of Assisi Church in Saint Clair.
Tenaglia said more than 50 people signed up for the training.
"We have a large group coming in tomorrow night for training. It is to help EMS personnel understand and recognize elder abuse and how to report it. We will also address any concerns they have."
She said the event will feature two presenters from Harrisburg and will be the largest training program for SEAPA to date.
"We are really pleased with that response and hope it can lead to some connections we didn't have previously," Tenaglia said.
On May 3, SEAPA will also hold its second annual Hornbrook Award presentations at The Greystone Restaurant.
The award is named in the honor of Professor John Hornbrook, who taught history at Penn State Schuylkill for many years. With no family members to manage his assets, Tenaglia explained Hornbrook had to depend on other people. Eventually realizing that he was being taken advantage of, he reached out to the community for help.
When he died, Tenaglia said Hornbook left SEAPA with a large amount of money in his will. As a result, SEAPA presents annual awards in his honor to an individual and organization who have been effective advocates of elder rights.
The individual award winner this year is Lee Yeagor, a volunteer ombudsman that has also delivered ribbons for SEAPA the last several years. Organizational winner this year was Boyer's Food Markets for its participation in the Silver Ribbon campaign the last several years.