Sandlin Douglas’ personal life history is part of what makes him a natural to serve as the current Chair of the Senior Services Board of Directors. From the time he was a young child, he witnessed his parents’ deep involvement with Senior Services and their advocacy for older adults. More personally, Sandlin and his siblings took active roles in caring for their live-in grandmother as she traveled the dementia journey. Over the five years his grandmother lived with them he saw, first-hand, the effects dementia has on the person living with it and their entire family unit.

Although the experience was difficult for him and his family, they remain grateful to have had the opportunity to be with and care for her throughout her final days. As Sandlin grew up, he became more aware that not every family is in the position to care for an aging loved one. ”The financial and emotional drain can be overwhelming but we were fortunate in a lot of ways,” he said. Growing up in a family that cared deeply for aging adults set the stage for Sandlin’s life-long involvement with Senior Services. set the stage for Sandlin’s life-long involvement with the organization. “This October 2024 will be my 24th year affiliated with Senior Services,” said Sandlin.

“No one is turned away for their inability to pay to attend the [Williams] Center.”

He was there when his parents co-chaired the very first Evening for Alzheimer’s Care, which was promoted as a “friend-raiser” for the Elizabeth and Tab Williams Adult Day Center (now housed in the Intergenerational Center for Arts and Wellness), to thank volunteers and to bring attention to the needs of Williams Center participants. Sandlin, along with his brothers and several college friends, were tasked with helping to set up and bartend during the event. Sandlin smiles, remembering that one of his first dates with his wife, Hunter, was also at an Evening for Alzheimer’s Care. He asked Hunter and some of her Salem College friends to help out during the event by modeling jewelry that was being auctioned. “My affiliation and volunteer work with Senior Services really began in those early years of the Evening for Alzheimer’s Care, and that has been a very important part of my life, my family’s life,” said Sandlin. The couple has chaired the event several times since then. “We’re proud to be a part of it and to help call attention and bring support to the award-winning work being done by the Williams Adult Day Center.” Money raised ensures that “No one is turned away for their inability to pay to attend the Williams Center.”

The Douglas family legacy of supporting Senior Services has now been passed to the third generation, Sandlin’s son, Borden. As a fifth grader at the Summit School, Borden and his classmates would visit with the older participants at the Williams Center once a month, playing games, dance-walking to music, creating arts and crafts, and telling stories. Sandlin was impressed by how the students connected with the Williams Center participants in meaningful ways. He was pleasantly surprised to witness the empathy and care his son and the other students displayed. One day, Borden spent time with a lady who said she was so impressed with him and his classmates that she was going to apply for a substitute teaching job at his school. Borden exclaimed, “What are we going to do, Dad? We have to get her a job at Summit!” Sandlin said, “Well, I don’t think that’s possible, but you’ve given her a way to connect and feel some level of importance and value, and you have given her the ability to share with you a passion that she has, and you’ve listened to her, and you’ve taken that to heart, and that’s what your time as a volunteer is about.”

Sandlin increased his volunteering to include Meals-on-Wheels, serving on the Board’s advocacy committee, and helping with marketing and advertising. He is proud that Bank of America, his employer, has continued to support Senior Services, especially Meals-on-Wheels. He notes that, “… delivering for Meals-on-Wheels is one of the most impactful things a volunteer can do in an hour and a half; the food and good nutrition is essential, but equally important is the human connection.” He expanded with, “Meals-on-Wheels now has led us to this Intergenerational Center for Arts and Wellness. That’s what this place is about: connecting individuals, connecting multiple generations, connecting seniors and children, connecting different components of our community, different demographics.”

Sandlin is impressed with the way the DNA of Senior Services continues to broaden its mission of helping older adults in Forsyth County age with dignity and live with purpose. The type of progressive thinking that created the Williams Center also conceived, designed, developed, built, and funded the construction of the extraordinary Intergenerational Center for Arts and Wellness (Generations Center), a one-of-a-kind 62,500-square-foot facility. With the participation of 21 partner organizations, it is fast becoming a hub for community-based programs, events, and educational opportunities that educate, entertain, and uplift all generations in the Forsyth County community.

“I really think we have moved to a place where we are trying to build a community of belonging, and Senior Services is doing that.”

While Senior Services’ mission has always been to discover and address the basic needs of older residents of the county, Sandlin sees that the organization’s leaders, staff, and volunteers have the vision to improve participants’ quality of life and to anticipate the next need in the community. “With the establishment of the Generations Center, Senior Services can bring all ages and demographics together to build a community of “belonging” to add that essential human connection for participants and the public alike.”

“I am so fulfilled as a volunteer knowing that I am helping seniors live with dignity.”

The message that Sandlin wants to communicate is that Senior Services is here to help older adults live fully on their own terms, and to invite the community at large to participate. “Community participation can mean volunteering in any of the many Senior Services’ programs, attending public events at the Generations Center, (such as the recent “Blooming Together” Intergenerational Arts Festival), engaging with one of the resident non-profits (such as the Hispanic League), or donating at a fundraiser (such as “Evening for Alzheimer’s Care”).” There are also hands-on classes offered at the Sawtooth School for Visual Art satellite studios, or free classes in dance, cooking, writing, drumming, exercise, acting, and more at the Generations Center. There is even a small café and a “Main Street” where you can meet with friends or plug in your laptop for quiet time online.

When asked, Sandlin laughed while trying to come up with just one word to describe Senior Services, but nodded triumphantly when he grabbed the right one: “Empathy–Senior Services has empathy for our community!”