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Mountain Empire Older Citizens invites local churches and individuals to join the upcoming Hearthwarming Sunday, an initiative that provides vital midwinter support for the Emergency Fuel Fund for the Elderly.  The fuel fund annually provides emergency heating assistance to about 1,000 older adults in Lee, Scott and Wise counties and the City of Norton. Now is the time of year when requests increase, and funds dwindle. The annual Hearthwarming Sunday, held on the Sunday closest to Valentine’s Day, provides a much-needed boost to help meet requests through the remainder of the winter. 

The Rapha Foundation has awarded a $50,000 grant to MEOC’s Emergency Fuel Fund for the Elderly. Foundation Executive Director Mark Vanover, left, delivered a check to MEOC’s office on Dec. 21. The nonprofit Rapha Foundation is dedicated to improving health and education access in Southwest Virginia. MEOC’s emergency fuel fund assists older persons in Lee, Scott and Wise counties and the City of Norton with heating costs such as payment of an electric bill or oil, gas, coal or wood delivery. Vanover is pictured with MEOC Executive Director Michael Wampler. Learn more about The Rapha Foundation here.

For 82-year-old June Jones of Norton, Mountain Empire Transit is more than just a way to get from here to there. The public transportation service is a lifeline to her independence.

MEOC’s emergency heating assistance program is in full swing, with close to 570 households assisted and $101,260 expended in the first six weeks of the program. “Our phone lines ring nearly nonstop all day as soon as the fuel assistance program opens each year on Nov. 1. And the calls keep coming until the program ends on March 31,” said MEOC Emergency Services Director Marsha Craiger. Requests for help come from low-income older adults in MEOC’s service area of Lee, Scott and Wise counties and the City of Norton who are without heat or in danger of being without heat […]

Area resident Cathy Shupe was struggling to live at home. She had recently suffered a stroke with right-sided weakness and was finding it difficult to regain her strength to stay safe and independent at home. Cathy was at risk for nursing home placement, though she was hesitant to give up on her dream of remaining at home with her beloved cat, Marmalade. Cathy eventually enrolled in Mountain Empire Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). Unfortunately, within two weeks of enrolling, she had several falls and no longer felt safe living at home alone.

As MEOC’s kitchen services manager, the late Ron Maddox helped serve hundreds of thousands of meals to the elderly in need in Lee, Scott and Wise counties and the City of Norton. Maddox was kind and generous. He was also funny, quick witted and had a smile for everyone he encountered. “If you knew Ron, he made you laugh. He was a friend to all,” said MEOC Executive Director Michael Wampler, who knew Maddox since Ron began working at MEOC in 2009 as a transit driver. Maddox passed away on July 26 after battling cancer. When it came time to […]

MEOC Executive Director Michael Wampler (second from right) accepts a $10,000 check for the Mountain Laurel Cancer Support & Resource Center from The Slemp Foundation trustee Nancey Edmonds Smith. Accompanying Smith to present the check on June 21 were son and daughter Jim Smith and Melissa Jensen (far right), also foundation trustees. MEOC Director of Wellness and Insurance Counseling Tiffany Jacobs, who coordinates Mountain Laurel services, is also pictured. The money will buy liquid nutrition supplements for cancer patients and gas gift cards for cancer-related travel. Visit The Slemp Foundation website here to learn more about it.

METGo!, Mountain Empire Transit’s free on-demand bus service in the Wise-Norton area, has received the 2023 First Place Best Practices Award from the Virginia Commonwealth Council on Aging. The 24-member CCOA advises the governor and General Assembly on aging-related issues. The award, which includes a $5,500 cash prize, was judged on criteria including community impact, potential for replication, innovation, outcomes and promotion of aging in the community.

Mountain Empire Transit earned the top team award for the third consecutive year at the annual Community Transportation Association of Virginia’s Paratransit Roadeo. The team has won the competition’s top honor for eight of the past 10 years.