Behind the wheel of the new shuttle bus at the WCA Home is Activity Director Barb Jones. Also in the photo are, left to right in back: Board Members Lucinda Coon and Mary Sue Vogel; Board President Christine Davis Mantai (with the home’s pet, Smidgy); Administrator Tammy McCool, Program Director Eileen Dunn of the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation, and Board Members Karen Davis and Richard Halas.

The WCA Home Board of Directors recently celebrated the arrival of its new shuttle bus, a 2015 Ford Transit Wagon, purchased entirely from donations and grants. The bus seats 12, and is used to take residents of the Fredonia, NY, assisted living home on local trips for dining, sightseeing, cultural events, and shopping.

“We are so grateful to the local community and the generosity of foundations for making it possible for us to purchase this bus without taking out a loan,” Tammy McCool, Home Administrator, said. “The bus has made traveling a real pleasure for our residents. The new vehicle has many great safety features and is much more comfortable than our previous one, making it more fun for our residents to take trips.”

The $52,000 shuttle bus was paid for with grants sought by Administrator McCool. She was successful in receiving grants from the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation, the Lenna Foundation of Jamestown, the First United Methodist Church in Fredonia, a MedAssets incentive grant, and a grant from New York State’s Department of Health program, “Enhancing the Quality of Adult Living” (EQUAL).

The remainder of the funds was reached through donations from individuals and the WCA Home’s Front Porch Sale.

The only New York State-licensed Assisted Living Program facility in Northern Chautauqua, the WCA Home serves women who wish to live in a community setting or need more care than is provided in Adult Homes. For those who need it, the Home provides an advanced level of care in a flexible, living environment, lessening the need for its residents to relocate to a nursing home.

The home was founded in 1893 in the historic, Victorian era Aaron O. Putnam House at 134 Temple Street. More information is available at wcahome.org.