Purpose
The Normandale Center for Healing and Wholeness, based in Edina, Minnesota, is a nonprofit, faith-founded organization that “walks with” older adults and their family members to support them in body, mind & spirit. This community organization was founded in 1998.
The Center serves over 600 older persons and family members each year in Edina, Bloomington, and surrounding areas. The Center provides friendly visitors and rides through volunteers, health education, wellness classes, screening / prevention clinics, resource consultation, foot care, loaner adaptive equipment and other support services. Five part-time staff and over 100 volunteers come together to provide these services. The Center relies on donations and grants to operate.
Our founders sought to create a center that would support seniors and their family caregivers through holistic services and collaborative programming.
We strive to:
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Establish or maintain seniors' connections with their communities
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Alleviate isolation
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Maintain / improve health
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Extend independence
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Enhance quality of life
For family caregivers, we strive to:
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Alleviate caregiver burden
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Improve caregivers' capacity to continue in their supportive roles
For more information, contact the Director of the Center, Deborah Paone, at 952.929.1697, ext 45, or e-mail Deborah at deborah@normluth.org.
Who We Serve
We serve a geographic area consisting of Edina, West Bloomington, Eden Prairie, South Minneapolis, and other local neighborhoods. The great majority of our "clients" come from Edina.
Guiding Principles
The Board-approved values and principles for the Center are as follows:
• Focus on strengths/assets as we "walk with" seniors & family caregivers
• Accentuate vitality
• Be collaborative, innovative — find creative opportunities to work with others
• Be open to all — demonstrate purposeful outreach
• Replicate and teach — share models, lessons learned, technical assistance
• Learn from others — persons, organizations, programs, models, research, practice
• See the whole person (mind/body/spirit)
• Fill gaps, do not duplicate
• Link informal and formal services
• Proactively measure impact
• Make good use of Center resources
• Make good use of partner/other organizations’ strengths
• Enhance the community (defined many ways)
Our History
The Normandale Center for Healing & Wholeness began as a pilot program in 1998 through a collaboration between Normandale Lutheran Church, Fairview Health Services, Lutheran Social Services and Lutheran Brotherhood.
In 2000 the leadership guiding this pilot determined that the Center should be permanent. In May, 2000, the Normandale Center for Healing & Wholeness was launched as a charitable nonprofit organization with its’ own corporate charter, Board of Directors, mission, and service components. Two sponsors continued to provide strategic and financial support (Normandale Lutheran Church and Fairview Health Services). The Center was also able to seek grant funding through philanthropic and governmental sources.
Since 2001, when the Center was awarded its first federal grant, grant funding has represented over half of the Center’s funding and provided a way to continue to innovate around programs and services for both elders and family members assisting them.
At present the Center has five part-time staff members and a “virtual workforce” of over 100 volunteers. The Center serves about 650 individuals annually and has collaborated with over two dozen local and regional organizations to extend service effectiveness, outreach, and to maximize limited resources. We continue to seek collaborative and innovative opportunities in order to serve more neighbors, teach and learn from others, and stretch ourselves to improve.
We see our Center as part of a movement to bring together community, health, and faith to foster engagement and promote vitality and holistic health, especially among elders and their families.