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Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation Announces New Staff Hires in 2023
Foundation adds Gary Stark, Sarah Truax, Sheila O’Hara, Faye Radcliffe, and Danielle Wilder- Hamilton to the staff; and promotes Nena Taormino
Detroit, MI – The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation today announced the addition of five new staff members in 2023. The new hires and positions include Gary Stark, director of grant operations; Sarah Truax, learning associate; Faye Radcliffe, program executive assistant; Danielle Wilder-Hamilton, executive assistant; and Sheila O’Hara, office manager. These new hires bring the Foundation’s full-time staff total to 27 employees. The Foundation also announced the promotion of Nena Taormino from grants management & operations assistant to the role of grants management associate.
DownloadRalph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and the Michigan Health Endowment Fund Make $3.7 Million Investment to Bring Exhale – the Family Caregiver Initiative to Southeast Michigan
Interested Exhale participants can now register for December and January program launch events
Detroit, MI, November 13, 2023 – Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and the Michigan Health Endowment Fund announced today a $3.7 million commitment to expand Exhale – the Family Caregiver Initiative in Southeast Michigan.
Exhale funds and supports innovative, collaborative projects that are reimagining respite and increasing respite opportunities for family caregivers of older adults. The program has operated since 2019, primarily working with organizations and businesses in New York state, and will now make grants, totaling $3.7 million, to organizations, communities, and businesses located in Wayne, Monroe, St. Clair, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston, and Washtenaw counties. The decision to launch the program widely in Southeast Michigan is on the heels of Exhale’s most recent cohort, which includes three grantees in Washtenaw County: Chelsea Senior Center, The Regents of the University of Michigan, and Ypsilanti Meals on Wheels.
“Exhale’s growth over the past four years has been tremendous, thanks in large part to the organizations that are coming together to reimagine respite through strategic partnerships and creative ideas,” said Amber Slichta, vice president and programs and learning, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation. “Project teams, including those in Washtenaw County, are helping to improve family caregivers’ well-being, which can lead to better health and lower costs of care.”
For example, Ypsilanti Meals on Wheels provides in-home caregiver respite, chore support, home modifications, and clinical occupational therapy (for older adult care recipients); The Regents of the University of Michigan started the Washtenaw Support Network for Caregivers, which provides a variety of respite opportunities, including in-home care, day care, educational programs, outings, care consultations, and more; and Chelsea Senior Center hosts Ease the Day, an onsite social model of respite, which includes meaningful and purposeful physical, cognitive, and social engagement, in Chelsea – a town with more than 30% of its residents over the age of 65.
A 2021 scan of family and informal caregiver suports conducted by the University of Michigan’s Center for Health and Research Transformation estimated that Michigan is home to more than 1.7 million family caregivers, with 44% residing in Southeast Michigan.
“When caregivers are asked about the help they need most, they consistently rank respite among their top priorities. Increasing opportunities for caregivers to take a break will improve their quality of life,” said Neel Hajra, chief executive officer, Michigan Health Endowment Fund. “That’s why we’re excited to join with the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation to launch the Exhale initiative in Southeast Michigan to help organizations in the region expand and strengthen the network of respite supports.”
Exhale is an opportunity for organizations, communities, and businesses of all sizes to work together to create innovative, community-based solutions that provide caregivers with an opportunity to breathe a little easier. Through a short series of workshops, organizations based in eligible Southeast Michigan counties and interested in developing caregiver respite projects and increasing access to respite services will receive free training in creative problem solving, the opportunity to connect with other organizations, and support throughout the grant application process. Each organization will receive a $500 stipend for workshop participation. Upon completing the workshop series, participants will be eligible to apply for Exhale funding. The workshop series begins January 25, 2024.
Exhale is hosting two virtual information sessions to kick off its 2024 Southeast Michigan program. These sessions will provide attendees with an overview of the Exhale program; information about the grant application process, including eligibility requirements; and the opportunity to hear from current Exhale grantees. They will be held on Tuesday, December 12 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. EST and Monday, January 8 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. EST.
The opportunity to expand Exhale throughout Southeast Michigan is made possible by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and the Michigan Health Endowment Fund, with additional outreach support provided by the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. Exhale is managed by The Philanthropic Initiative (TPI) with support from Teresa Lawrence, president, International Deliverables. Exhale was first established in the Southern Tier region of New York in 2019, and since has expanded across the nine counties of Western New York, and Washtenaw County, Michigan through the generous support of Ralph C. Wilson Foundation, the Health Foundation for Western and Central New York, and the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation. To date, 90 partner organizations have created 16 successful caregiver respite projects in New York and Michigan. Read more about them at ExhaleforCaregivers.org.
Registration is now open for the workshop series, the December 12 information session, and the January 8 information session. Learn more about Exhale at ExhaleForCaregivers.org or contact Lisa Simon at LSimon@tpi.org.
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About Exhale
Exhale – the Family Caregiver Initiative, funds innovative collaborative projects that are reimagining respite and increasing respite opportunities for family caregivers of older adults. Respite, a period of rest or relief, can play a key role in reinforcing caregiver well-being and effectiveness, leading to better health, social-emotional outcomes, and lower costs of care for family caregivers and older adults they care for. Read more about Exhale at ExhaleForCaregivers.org.
About Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation
The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation is a grantmaking organization dedicated primarily to sustained investment in the quality of life of the people of Southeast Michigan and Western New York. The two areas reflect Ralph C. Wilson, Jr.’s devotion to his hometown of Detroit and greater Buffalo, home of his Buffalo Bills franchise. Prior to his passing in 2014, Mr. Wilson requested that a significant share of his estate be used to continue his life-long generosity of spirit by funding the Foundation that bears his name. Based in Detroit, the Foundation has a grantmaking capacity of $1.2 billion over a 20-year period, which expires January 8, 2035. This structure is consistent with Mr. Wilson’s desire for the Foundation’s impact to be immediate, substantial, measurable and overseen by those who knew him best. For more information visit www.rcwjrf.org.
About the Michigan Health Endowment Fund
The Michigan Health Endowment Fund works to improve the health and wellness of Michigan residents and reduce the cost of healthcare, with a special focus on children and older adults. For more information about the Health Fund and its grantmaking, visit www.mihealthfund.org.
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Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation name being used in postal and digital scams; How to report fraudulent activity
Individuals have been fraudulently posing in traditional postal mail, e-mails, in text messages and on social media, as “representatives” of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation. These individuals are using the Foundation’s name without authorization and have contacted people to suggest that funds may be forthcoming if personal identification and financial information is provided.
The latest scam we have been notified about involves a message about a church distributing funds on our behalf. These messages are fraudulent and are an illegal misrepresentation of the Foundation and the grantmaking work we do.
The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and its employees do not:
- Sponsor lotteries of any kind.
- Solicit donations of any kind
- Ask for personal information, such as your Social Security number or an online account password.
- Approach individuals offering grant opportunities or scholarships.
- Require/request grantees to pay insurance, deposits, or delivery and administrative fees for grant funds.
- Request funds through email, text, phone or social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Instant Messenger.
- Offer investment opportunities.
- Request conference fees or fees to apply for jobs.
- Ask that you to click a link to resolve a problem, win a prize or access a service.
If you receive any form of communication that appears to be from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation requesting any type of payment or personal and/or financial information, or if you receive a communication seemingly from the Foundation that you feel is suspicious, please disregard that communication. We would appreciate your reporting any fraudulent communications to us at Info@ralphcwilsonjrfoundation.org or by phone at (313) 885-1895. Please be sure to share the fraudulent communications and any screen shots to us as well.
If you suspect you have received a fraudulent text message (known as “smishing”), please take the following steps:
- Contact the company or organization that supposedly sent the text, using a phone number or website you know to be legitimate, if you think it might concern a genuine problem.
- Forward spam and scam texts to 7726 (SPAM), the spam reporting service run by the mobile industry. This sends the text to your carrier so it can investigate. Cybersecurity company Norton has a guide to the process.
- Consider using tools that filter or block unwanted messages or unknown senders:
- Your mobile device may have built-in spam protection. Check the settings on its messaging app.
- Most major wireless carriers offer call-blocking services.
- Some call-blocking apps also filter out junk texts.
- Don’t provide personal or financial data in response to an unsolicited text or at a website the message links to.
- Don’t click on links in suspicious texts. They could install malware on your device or take you to a site that does the same.
- Don’t reply, even if the message says you can “text STOP” to avoid more messages. That tells the scammer or spammer your number is active and can be sold to other bad actors.
- Don’t assume a text is legitimate because it comes from a familiar phone number or area code. Spammers use caller ID spoofing to make it appear the text is from a trusted or local source.
Furthermore, you can also report these scams and fraudulent communications to the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov) or the FBI (www.ic3.gov/complaint). The website of CTIA, a Washington, D.C.-based trade association that represents the U.S. wireless industry, has lists of apps for Android and Apple devices that block robocalls and spam texts.
Additionally, if a check or any other documents were mailed (using United States Postal Service mail), you can file a postal fraud complaint here: https://ehome.uspis.gov/fcsexternal/default.aspx. Learn more about postal fraud here: https://www.uspis.gov/report.