Calhoun County Council on Aging (CCCOA)
Business/Organization Name: Calhoun County Council on Aging (CCCOA)
Year Established: 1976
Operator Name(s) Jill Truesdale
Number of employees from Calhoun County: 1 (Jill Truesdale joined in 2021)
Location: 200 Milligan Circle, P.O Box 212, Saint Matthews, SC 29135
Services: We provide services to promote the well-being of aging persons residing in Calhoun County. Our purpose is to help maintain their independence, function to the best of their ability, and to inform them of resources, activities and opportunities available in the community.
Why did you decide to join this business? I’ve always enjoyed working and interacting with our older community members. I believe their experience and learning from their stories is a way to bring a community together; it creates a feeling of connection and closeness between the people of that community.
What accomplishment are you most proud of as a member of this organization?
Being a part of CCCOA, I get to see the first hand impact of our programs for the senior population in Calhoun County. We not only provide nutritious meals and great socialization programs to our participants but we are also the ones who step into the gap when many participants do not have a local support system. In 2020 when most organizations closed their doors, we kept moving forward and did not stop our programs. While we did change to drive thru meals for our congregate participants and also with virtual activities, we maintained contact to ensure they were thriving and not being negatively affected due to having to stay home.
This center offers many wonderful programs for seniors in Calhoun County. We are always looking for ways to promote the programs and many are published and readily available on the center’s website and Facebook page!
https://calhouncounty.sc.gov/departments/council-aging
https://www.facebook.com/calhouncountycoa
What sets you apart from other businesses/organizations?
The one thing that really sets us apart from other businesses is our staff. Our staff will do everything they can to help the seniors participating in our programs. This was extremely present during the initial stages of the COVID pandemic. Our staff continued to provide non-routine service and maintained contacted with seniors who were not mobile during this time; this included daily phone calls and meal deliveries.
Do you have any other info you want to share?
If you are a Calhoun County resident who is 60 years old or older and want to be a part of our wonderful program, please come see us. We like to say we are putting the “human” back into human services because YOU matter. You can always give us a call at 803-874-1270 or visit our website: https://calhouncounty.sc.gov/departments/council-aging
