Lois Torgersen (from left), founder of Advocates for the Elderly, joins with South Shore Foundation Chairman Jodie Elizabeth Jeffrey, and two past presidents of Advocates for the Elderly, Berny Tott and Jerry Strobel, to celebrate a new grant for Certified Nursing Assistant students from the South Shore Foundation. The grant will finance 10 scholarships for students wishing to take CNA classes to work in the health care field locally.

South Shore Foundation recently made a $3,564 grant to Advocates for the Elderly to finance 10 scholarships for Certified Nursing Assistant training. Also covered in the grant was funding to buy textbooks to loan to students in need and for 12 continuing education courses for CNAs already employed by health care facilities or agencies in the area.

Lois Torgersen, founder and board member of Advocates for the Elderly, said individuals are carefully selected for the scholarships through applications and interviews with a selection committee. “The CNAs provide most of the ‘hands-on’ care the frail and elderly receive in nursing homes and some residential settings,” Mrs. Torgersen explained.

The scholarships funded by the South Shore Foundation are intended for residents of Marion and Boone Counties, where the foundation and its parent company, NATCO, are located. Sixty-three scholarships have been given to students since 2000 by Advocates for the Elderly, and most recipients have remained working in the area, Mrs. Torgersen said, according to annual surveys the group conducts.

Each scholarship is worth $282 toward the CNA course. Textbooks and other items needed by students can be loaned to the students, and, if there is extreme need, additional funds are available from another nonprofit organization, Mrs. Torgersen said. The CNA course is three weeks long with classes being held at Arkansas State University Mountain Home.

To apply for the scholarships, contact Phil Garner, director of continuing education, at ASUMH by calling (870) 508–6133, or for additional information, contact Advocates for the Elderly members Jan or Lois at 424-2475 or 425-7810. The group meets each month on the second Thursday at 1:30 p.m. at the Van Matre Senior Center in Cooper Park in Mountain Home.

Goals of the Advocates for the Elderly include preventing abuse and neglect of the elderly, educating the public, working with nursing homes to enhance the position of CNAs, and supporting positive legislation at all levels that would benefit the elderly.

South Shore Foundation, the charitable arm of NATCO, awards grants to nonprofit organizations located in and serving the people in NATCO’s territory in Marion and Boone Counties. Goals of the foundation are educational advancement, environmental preservation, and economic development. For more information, contact South Shore Foundation at 1-800-775-6682.