Rhinebeck at Home

VILLAGES SPOTLIGHT

Village Name: Rhinebeck at Home

Contact Information:

P.O. Box 437, Rhinebeck, NY 12572

845-379-1114

office@rhinebeckathome.org

Geographic area served: Rhinebeck, NY

Community: Rural

Website: www.rhinebeckathome.org

About/Mission/Description: Rhinebeck at Home is an all-volunteer organization whose members believe in helping each other lead fully engaged lives. Members participate in planning and attending enriching programs and activities. Rhinebeck at Home encourages and coordinates the efforts of its members to give and receive support. Services include: transportation, errands & at-home help; referrals to other community service organizations; helping each other do things; sharing member-recommended service provider referrals.

Governance (Village administration):

  • Board structure: members
  • Officers – President: Nina Lynch; Vice President: Anne Brueckner; Treasurer: Francois Weigel; Secretary: June Vanderlaan
  • Directors – John Hoctor, Ellen Hubbert, Chuck Mishaan, Anne Sunners
  • Committees – listed on website
  • Staff – none paid

Village Operational Status:

  • Operational
  • Date Launched – May 2013

History of Village Development:

The Town of Rhinebeck Committee on Aging became aware of the “aging in place” concept in 2007 and joined our neighbors from the greater Poughkeepsie area in exploring the possibility of creating something modeled on Boston’s ground-breaking Beacon Hill Village. Distance and cost estimates essentially derailed the concept of just one organization in Dutchess County. A 2011 survey by the Town of Rhinebeck Committee on Aging identified more than 70 Rhinebeck residents who were interested in learning more about the possibility of an aging-in-place organization for Rhinebeck. A small group of Rhinebeck residents formed a not-for-profit organization and held many meetings and gatherings of interested persons. Northern Dutchess Hospital provided us with office space; the Community Foundation of the Hudson Valley provided fiscal sponsorship; we developed policies and procedures; the Frost Memorial Fund provided seed funding; we obtained insurance and established membership criteria. We finally launched on Thursday, May 9th, 2013 with 40 members and have since grown to 120 members.

Membership

Age requirements: No limit.

Dues rates: 

  • Single – $120/year
  • Low Income/Subsidy – $60/year

Members count:

  • # of Single – 110
  • # of Low Income/Subsidized – 7

Volunteer roles:

  • Member to member – All 117 members are volunteers
  • Non-member volunteers – 0
  • Both members and non-member – 0

Village Partnerships: we collaborate with our local hospital, our town library, our public school system, an assisted living facility, among others.

Village Program & Services:

  • Friendly visits/check-ins
  • Health care navigation
  • Home chores
  • Pet care assistance
  • Safety and home security assistance
  • Social & Civic Engagement
  • Technology training
  • Transportation
  • Vetting preferred providers: We have a Member-Recommended Service Provider database, but the providers / vendors are not formally vetted.
  • Services Offered: Anything members can help each other with, be it transportation, watering plants, turning a mattress, helping with devices, in-home chats, sharing information, etc.
  • Programs Offered: informational meetings related to concerns and interests, small group outings, weekly drop-in lunch, book discussion group, small gatherings around members’ shared interests.
  • Regular Meetings: monthly get-together featuring speakers, entertainment, an organizational discussion – very flexible

2019 Budget:

  • Annual Revenue – $13,500
  • Annual Expenditures – $13,500

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