A Meal, a Friendship, a Place to Turn: Lincoln County Celebrates Embrace A Senior Month
LINCOLN COUNTY, Mo. — Lindsey Kelley went to work at the Lincoln County Council on Aging expecting to help older adults. She says the friendships she found there helped her find the strength to stop drinking after years of carrying grief over the loss of her baby.
Her experience is one reason she wants people to understand what LCCOA offers beyond a meal—and why November’s Embrace A Senior campaign matters to people who may never have walked through its doors.
The Lincoln County Commissioners signed a proclamation recognizing November as Embrace A Senior Month. LCCOA is inviting residents, businesses, churches and civic groups to participate under the message “Give a meal. Share connection. Show you care.”
Since 1978, the organization has served Lincoln County through its meals program and community center. Home-delivered meals help older neighbors who have difficulty preparing food safely, while each delivery brings a friendly face to the door. At the center, lunch and activities give people opportunities to catch up with friends, meet someone new and have something to look forward to.
Kelley, LCCOA’s growth coordinator, hopes the campaign helps people recognize that support before they need it.
Someone may hear about LCCOA today and think it has little to do with their life. Five or ten years later, a parent may need help. An illness or loss may change retirement plans that once seemed secure.
“When that day comes, I pray they remember they have people they can lean on,” Kelley wrote in a personal testimony shared with Lincoln CountyWatch.
For Kelley, the value of those relationships is personal.
In 2008, she lost her baby. In the years that followed, she described becoming a high-functioning alcoholic—continuing to work and meet her responsibilities while struggling privately.
“I kept showing up and doing what I needed to do, but I was carrying grief I didn’t know how to live with,” she wrote. “I was caught in chains I didn’t know how to break. Then God led me to LCCOA.”
At the organization, she met people who could talk about some of the hardest years of their lives and still leave her laughing by the end of a conversation. They shared stories about people they had lost, mistakes they had made and how their faith had carried them through.
“Hearing what they’d been through and seeing how much joy they still had gave me hope that I could find joy again, too,” Kelley wrote. “God used those friendships to help me find the strength to stop drinking.”
She described how addiction, abuse, hunger, grief, loneliness and fear can feel like burdens a person will carry forever. Hearing how someone else survived a difficult chapter helped her believe she could get through hers.
“I went to work at LCCOA, but God had different plans to change my life.”
Over the years, Kelley has made new friends almost every week and said goodbye to more than she expected. She said those relationships have shaped how she lives, loves and raises her daughters.
Some days bring birthday celebrations and laughter over stories everyone has heard before. Other days bring families struggling with the changes caused by Parkinson’s disease, dementia or Alzheimer’s disease—grieving aspects of a loved one’s life while that person is still beside them.
Kelley has watched veterans light up when they see each other and heard relief in a homebound neighbor’s voice when someone familiar checks in.
“Sometimes those few minutes together are what a person has been looking forward to all day!”
Those experiences are why she sees the campaign as a chance to introduce people to a place they may need years from now—or to friendships they do not yet know they need.
Taking part in Embrace A Senior Month can be as simple as calling an older neighbor, stopping by for a visit or inviting someone to lunch. Businesses, churches and civic groups can organize a collection, make a donation or share information with their members and customers.
Donations throughout November will support LCCOA’s meals program and community center.
The organization says a $50 gift can help provide meals for a homebound neighbor. $200 can help keep the center comfortable and welcoming, while $500 can help cover fuel for meal deliveries across Lincoln County. A $1,000 contribution can help sustain meal service and provide more opportunities for older adults to spend time together. Gifts of any amount are welcome.
Donations can be made at LCCOAonline.org or mailed to Lincoln County Council on Aging, 1380 Boone Street, Troy, MO 63379.
For questions about the campaign or other ways to help, contact Lindsey Kelley, Growth Coordinator, at 636-528-7000, ext. 2, or LKelley@LCCOAonline.org.
Kelley expressed gratitude to everyone who has organized an event, sponsored a fundraiser, volunteered, shared a post or told a neighbor about LCCOA. Each helps put meals on tables and makes the organization known to someone who may eventually need support.
“You never know what will come of telling someone about LCCOA,” she wrote. “They may need us years from now. Their parents may need us next month. Or they may walk through our doors thinking they’re coming to help somebody else, just like I did.”
For Kelley, an ordinary meal or conversation can become something life-changing.
“If you ever wonder whether God can use something as ordinary as a meal or a conversation to change a life, I’m living proof that He DOES!”
About Lincoln CountyWatch
Lincoln CountyWatch is part of the County Watch Network (CWN), an independent local news organization providing fact-based coverage of Lincoln County and the surrounding region. Our reporting includes breaking news, public safety, local government, courts, business, community events, weather, and investigative journalism.
Our newsroom is not affiliated with any law enforcement agency, fire department, EMS agency, government entity, court system, political organization, or elected official. Editorial decisions are made independently and are based on available facts, public records, court records, official documents, interviews, photographs, video evidence, on-the-record statements, and other verified sources available at the time of publication. Articles may be updated or corrected as additional verified information becomes available.
Individuals mentioned in our reporting are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. The filing or non-filing of criminal charges, an arrest, or the existence of an investigation should not be interpreted as evidence of guilt.
For corrections, clarifications, news tips, event submissions, or story ideas, contact tips@lincolncountywatch.com
Sources
Embrace A Senior Month campaign information supplied by the Lincoln County Council on Aging.
Personal testimony provided by Lindsey Kelley, LCCOA growth coordinator.
Comments