Carroll Lutheran Village, an award-winning life-plan community, received Mather Institute’s Promising Practices Award for its biannual freecycle-like event, Village Treasures. The award is given to organizations that demonstrate outstanding commitment to innovative practices that enhance older adults’ lives.
Mather Institute annually acknowledges organizations that break away from conventional practices, and CLV’s Village Treasures event stood out for encouraging residents to reduce, reuse and recycle surplus items. Except for clothing and furnishings, residents donate a variety of items including games, crafts, books, CDs, DVDs, home decor, holiday items and art supplies.
Residents also volunteer to help with organizing and promoting the event as well as, assist with fundraising efforts that support the community’s Benevolent Care Fund during the event, which benefits residents whose resources have been depleted so they can continue receiving quality care in a place they call home. Although Village Treasures items are free, donations to the fund are welcome and have resulted in nearly $24,000 in contributions from 2016 through 2023.
Village Treasures is immensely popular among residents, team members and wider community, fostering a spirit of generosity and environmental consciousness. The result is a win-win for everyone involved: residents have a convenient means for donating unwanted items, team members and residents benefit from valuable free items, local nonprofits receive substantial donations of unclaimed items and the entire community enjoys enhanced social engagement.
“We are thrilled to receive the Mather Institute’s Promising Practices Award for Village Treasures,” said CLV’s Executive Director, Pete Bolt. “This recognition affirms our commitment to our innovation core value. We strive to create innovative initiatives that benefit our residents as well as the broader community.”
