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Royal Oaks Retirement

A retirement living community in Dalton, Ga

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Residents Give Back to Those That Serve Them

Residents Give Back to Those That Serve Them Scholarships are a pivotal asset in attending college. Most students rely on one or more scholarships just to attend. Some students have to work their way through college to pay for it.  CBS News reports that, “among full-time college students enrolled at four-year colleges, just 0.3% received enough grants and scholarships to cover the full cost of college.” At Royal Oaks Senior Living Community, the Residents have come together to make attending college easier for the ones that give back and care for them.

In 2017, several residents – including retired teachers and college professors – put their expertise together to come up with a scholarship system for employees at Royal Oaks that attend Dalton State College naming it the Residents of Royal Oaks Scholarship. First, they proposed the idea to the remaining body of residents, who accepted the scholarship 100%. Second, they established that any resident could donate to the scholarship and could donate any amount of funds at any time throughout the year. After establishment and approval by the Dalton State College Foundation, the founding residents of the scholarship spread the word to all employees who attend Dalton State. They wanted to make the application process easy and open to as many employees as available that met the requirements. Their requirements included:

  • Must be a Full-Time Student at Dalton State College with a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or Higher.
  • Must be a Royal Oaks Employee and have worked here for one full year.
  • Student is allowed to have any Major.

With these requirements the scholarship was well on its way to being a success its first year – awarding three $600 scholarships to three deserving employees.  And this past scholarship award season, the Residents of Royal Oaks Scholarship was able to award one $1,000 scholarship to an employee.

Every year the Residents of Royal Oaks Scholarship is controlled by the resident committee assigned to the scholarship.  We have had two BBQs to raise money for the scholarship, along with the community and loved ones giving in memory of those who have passed away.

Each monetary gift is another opportunity for one or more of our amazing employees to attend college with less worry, and less debt – so that they can give back their time and caring commitment to the ones that are helping them achieve their educational dreams.

 

 

How Important is it for Seniors to Stay Involved in Their Local Community

How Important is it for Seniors to Stay Involved in Their Local CommunityAs seniors get ready to move into a Senior Living Community or any other senior facility, there is a sense of hesitancy, reluctance mostly due to their independence. In the article ‘How Can Older People Play a Bigger Role in Society?’ by The Guardian, Roger Newman states that his concerns, “…are the usual things like health, mortality, money, etc, but having a feeling of significance is also important” – and seniors will get that feeling of significance the more they stay involved with their community. Recently, Dalton Chamber of Commerce President, Rob Bradham, visited Royal Oaks to talk about the six pillars to the ‘Believe in Greater Dalton’ campaign. One of the pillars was Community Pride – a sense of pride that radiates from our residents living at Royal Oaks. They love stating that they grew up and live in Dalton and also why is it important for them to stay involved.

In the same article by The Guardian, Anna McEwen talks about how seniors stay involved, “Older people have a wealth of skills and experiences; they have lived through situations others cannot even imagine…They have also contributed for many decades” – contributions to churches, schools, parks, scholarships – to give back to the community that supported them. McEwen goes on to talk about more ways to increase community pride throughout different age groups – “Intergenerational work is a great way to break down barriers between groups of people. For young people to appreciate the experiences and skills of older people and vice versa so that we foster greater understanding between groups of people.” Family members of seniors often live in the same local community, so not only are they giving back to the community, they are giving back to family and friends of the family. Everything stays rooted in something they are familiar and comfortable with, all while moving into a Senior Living Community that may seem so foreign. But, soon we learn that our neighbors in Retirement are just like us – giving back to the community, staying involved, and breathing in the fresh air of community pride.

When seniors are involved they feel that sense of importance and community pride, but mostly they realize that as they take that next step to move into a Senior Living Community the connection with their new neighbors isn’t that unfamiliar.   They are just like them – staying involved, staying connected, and wanting to make the community a better place.