T O W N O F M IL T O N

REPORT OF THE COUNCIL ON AGINGTo The Honorable Board of Selectmen June 30th, 2011The Milton Council on Aging is pleased to submit its Annual Report for theyear ending June 30th, 2011. Again this year, more residents are becomingaware of the Council on Aging and the many programs and services that are offeredhere. Thanks to our newest Board Member, Maureen Conlon, we havegained a greater exposure to the younger residents through her popular exerciseclasses. They are very pleased to find so much help and support as they faceissues dealing with aging parents. The recently released 2010 federal censusshowed that Milton had a 12% increase in senior residents. This number is expectedto increase with the baby boomers and the 90 plus residents who arenow living longer and in need of services. The demands from these two groupsvary greatly and it is a challenge for the staff to adequately service both segmentsof the elderly population. Our COA website has proved to be a valuableresource to many residents and we continue to add updates and various componentsto it so that we can provide current information at any time. This pastyear, we were awarded a new 9 passenger, lift equipped van under a grant fromthe Older Americans Act administered by South Shore Elder Services. It wasa long grant application (40 plus pages) but it was worth the effort to see howmuch the seniors appreciate this new van. It also saves on gas as well. TheFriends of the COA continue to do outstanding job of fundraising and this pastyear, the provided the 20% match for the above mentioned van and purchaseda new 8 passenger van to replace a van that had to be taken off the road. Someof their fundraising efforts included the 15th annual Friends of the COA GolfTournament, a membership mailing and various day trips. All funds raised bythe Friends are used to help offset the cost of programs, services and essentialshere at the COA. We would also like to acknowledge and thank the CopelandFamily Foundation for again making a generous donation to our van transportationprogram. Their generosity to the town of Milton knows no end. Thework we do here at the COA would not be possible without our dedicated COABoard Members who give so freely of their time and talent to help us accomplishour mission statement. We also appreciate our wonderful volunteers whohelp out whenever there is a need here at the senior center. As we close out FY2011, we do so with a sense of pride and accomplishments doing all we can toenhance the quality of life of Milton’s senior residents.The following is a brief overview of FY’2011INFORMATION & REFERRALS Units of Service . . . . . 18,500Trained staff and volunteers answer an average of 60 phone calls a day.These calls relate to a wide range of issues and requests for services. Calls are93