LifePath

04/27/2026

Now’s the Time! Make Your Own Plan.
Start to make a personal health care plan with the Honoring Choices MA Getting Started Tool Kit. It’s as easy as 1-2-3!

When: Monday, May 11 1-2PM
Where: Zoom

Come join us to learn how to make your own care plan to help you get care that is right for you today and over your lifetime. We will review the five MA Planning documents and a simple three-step process to make your own plan.

Step 1. Choose a Health Care Agent in a Health Care Proxy. We will review how to fill out your own Health Care Proxy.
▪Not sure who to choose? That’s OK. You can start with Step 2.

Step 2. Talk with family or friends about your care choices. Write down your choices in a document called a Personal Directive (Living Will).
Step 3. Talk with your doctors & care providers to put your plan into action using our handy conversation guide “5 Things to Talk About with Your Care Providers.” We’ll review how to update your plan and add other planning documents.

Prior to joining, download the free Getting Started Tool Kit by clicking on the link below, with a Health Care Proxy, Personal Directive (Living Will), and “I Have a Health Care Proxy” Wallet Card.

No Cost.
No registration required. Just join the Zoom!

Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84123582965?pwd=0IPwLa39TWsbEo9ffKd5UufnWsc0a1.1
Meeting ID: 841 2358 2965. Passcode: 404933.

For more information, contact Lynne Feldman at lfeldman@lifepathma.org.

https://www.honoringchoicesmass.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Getting-Started-Tool-Kit-2025-08.pdf

04/25/2026

“We want to be the gap-filler. We really hope to ultimately have our elders in our community not feel alone,” says Reverend Cindy LaJoy, the Executive Director of Athol Kindness Connection, a new Village organization in Athol, Massachusetts, and the Associate Pastor at Athol Congregational Church.

Villages are grassroots, volunteer-driven nonprofit organizations that help older adults remain active, connected, and independent in their homes and communities. Following successful legislative advocacy by State Senator Jo Comerford and State Senator John Velis, an earmark in Governor Maura Healey’s 2026 Fiscal Year state budget enabled LifePath to award $100,000 to 10 local Village organizations, including Athol Kindness Connection, for the purpose of strengthening community-based, neighbor-to-neighbor support for older adults across the region.

With this funding, each Village will be able to provide neighbor-to-neighbor supports such as transportation for medical appointments and other essential needs, social activities, technology assistance, and help at home.

Cindy explains, “Within our church, we offer this help, but we want to offer it beyond the church, in an entirely secular way.” Cindy has experience caring for her own mom, who was cognitively sharp but needed some help physically with small tasks such as grocery shopping; tasks that weren’t difficult, but that her mother couldn’t do on her own. Getting her the help she needed was made harder by distance, with Cindy living in Colorado while her mother resided in California. The Athol Kindness Connection can be there for Athol residents in a similar position to Cindy’s mom—older adults needing a gap to be filled. Learn more by clicking on the link below.

Print this article“We want to be the gap-filler. We really hope to ultimately have our elders in our community not feel alone,” says Reverend Cindy LaJoy, the Executive Director of Athol Kindness Connection, a new Village organization in Athol, Massachusetts, and the Associate Pastor...

04/21/2026

LifePath will be one of the providers at the 24th Annual Mental Health & Wellness Fair in Energy Park in Greenfield on Wednesday, May 20. Stop by to learn about the supports we offer!

04/18/2026

This is the time of year when all of us want to shout from Poet’s Seat Tower that we LOVE our LifePath Volunteers! We cannot do what we do without the engagement of your service support. Thank you for helping us help our more vulnerable neighbors.

In the past year, LifePath volunteers gave tirelessly of themselves, sharing their time and commitment with over 6,000 older adults and individuals living with disabilities who reside among us in Franklin County and the North Quabbin area. This commitment has an amazing impact on our community. Last year, the combined efforts of our volunteers enhanced the resilience of our neighbors and also contributed close to $750,000 in hours to the economic vibrancy of our region. Read more by clicking on the link below.

Print this articleThis is the time of year when all of us want to shout from Poet’s Seat Tower that we LOVE our LifePath Volunteers! We cannot do what we do without the engagement of your service support. Thank you for helping us help our more vulnerable neighbors.   In the past yea...

04/17/2026

LifePath’s SHINE Counselor Meeting and Annual Appreciation Event took place at Champney’s Restaurant in Deerfield on April 16 to honor 40 SHINE counselors. SHINE counselors reviewed the current changes to Medicare and State Benefits at this meeting with input from Medicare Advocacy Project leaders in the state.

Just before a lovely lunch was served, several speakers acknowledged and thanked the SHINE counselors for all the assistance they provide to members of their community. These speakers included Lorraine York-Edberg, LifePath’s SHINE Regional Director; Kyra DeCarlo, LifePath’s SHINE Assistant Director; Ali Bers, Medicare Advocacy Project – State Director; Susan White, Director of Community and Volunteer Services at LifePath; Gary Yuhas, LifePath’s Executive Director; and Koby Gardner-Levine, Regional Manager for Congressman James McGovern.

LifePath’s SHINE Program covers all of Franklin County, most of Hampshire County, and parts of Hampden and Worcester County. SHINE counselors assist Medicare Beneficiaries at various Councils on Aging, local hospitals, LifePath’s Regional Offices, Highland Valley Elder Services offices, and other designated areas.

04/15/2026

A free group for people living with early stage dementia and their care partners is beginning in May in Athol! Call 413-773-5555 to register!

04/11/2026

How does where we live shape how we age? What aspects of a community help or hinder our ability to age well? The key to well-being in aging goes beyond supportive services for those in need, which is why LifePath, along with key partner Franklin Regional Council of Governments, and funders MA Community Health and Healthy Aging Funds and Point32 Health Plan Foundation, is leading the Age-Friendly movement here in Franklin County and the North Quabbin.

The Age-Friendly model, developed by the World Health Organization and AARP, says that the communities best suited to support people as they age are strong in eight domains: Outdoor Spaces and Buildings, Transportation, Housing, Social Participation, Civic Participation and Employment, Communication and Information, Community Support, and Health Services. The model allows each community to define specific changes that help residents age well. These changes can only succeed when organizations like LifePath, along with other community groups, businesses, and residents themselves, work together. Success means great news not only for older people, but for everyone.

One way that LifePath’s Age & Dementia Friendly Program supports these changes is by providing over $85,000 in funding to 30 community-led Age & Dementia Friendly projects to date. In this article, I’ll share a few examples of local residents creating the changes we need in order to become a wonderful place to age. Read about these examples in our local communities by clicking on the link below.

Print this articleHow does where we live shape how we age? What aspects of a community help or hinder our ability to age well? The key to well-being in aging goes beyond supportive services for those in need, which is why LifePath, along with key partner Franklin Regional Council of Govern...

04/07/2026

Rural Healthcare Workforce Training Program for people 55+

04/06/2026

LifePath is proud to be a sponsor of the 61st Annual Athol Orange River Rat Race taking place this Saturday, April 11!

Where to Watch the 61st Athol Orange River Rat Race!

You can tune in to AOTV on Spectrum Channel 1301 in Athol & Orange. If you have a Roku or Apple TV or a smart phone, install the Cablecast app and search Athol to find our live broadcast on your device. The stream is also live on aotv13.org

You can listen to race commentary on WVAO 105.9 FM on your radio, or download the RadioRethink app and search WVAO, or go to https://radiorethink.com/listen/wvao/

BIG NEWS!
We are pleased to announce a number of Western Massachusetts public access stations will be picking up the AOTV broadcast to bring the River Rat Race to other communities and hopefully inspire some new racers and race fans.

Bernardston / Northfield - Channel 1072
Erving - Channel 15 - Bernardston Northfield Community Television
Falls Cable - Channel 9 - Falls Cable TV
South Hadley - Channel 15 - South Hadley Community Television - SHCTV
Northampton - Channel 12 - Northampton Open Media
Montague - Channel 9 - Montague Community Television
(Keep an eye out, this list may grow!)

Special thanks to the The Athol Lions Club for putting together this amazing event every year and allowing us to be a part. Thanks to Frontier Community Access Television for volunteering time, equipment, and experience to the broadcast this year. Thank you to LearningTimes for lending us equipment, and Northampton Open Media for lending us access to Restream. Thank you to our amazing volunteers who will bring the race to your home!

Thank you of course to our generous sponsors for making our broadcast possible.

Sapphire Sponsors
Dean's Beans Organic Coffee Company
LifePath

Emerald Sponsors
Athol Savings Bank, A Division of Cornerstone Bank — Athol Spirits — bankHometown — Big Daddy's RV Sales & Service LLC — Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts — Cornerstone Insurance — Landry Plumbing & Heating — Quabbin Valley Plumbing and Heating — Whipps, Inc.

Ruby Sponsors
Billy Goat Boats — Edward Jones- Financial Advisor: David Mason — Greenfield Northampton Cooperative Bank — Hamshaw Lumber - Orange MA — Kimball-Cooke Insurance — North Quabbin Citizen Advocacy

04/04/2026

As you read this, spring has officially sprung! Spring has significance as a time of awakening and a time of renewal and rebirth. It brings with it a way of making things feel possible again. Maybe it’s the lack of snow and the arrival of greenery and flowers, or the warmth of the sun, but it’s a time we shake off the winter and start to think about what’s next. This spring, LifePath and MassHire Franklin Hampshire want to make sure that the feeling of possibility comes with real opportunity.

Maura Geary, Co-Executive Director of MassHire Franklin Hampshire, and I, are excited to share news about a new partnership between MassHire Franklin Hampshire and LifePath. Together, we believe this initiative could be genuinely life-changing for older adults in our region who are looking to enter, or re-enter, the workforce.

Through a Commonwealth Corporation Workforce Competitive Trust Fund award, MassHire Franklin Hampshire is leading a new Rural Healthcare Workforce Training Initiative. LifePath is proud to be a key partner in bringing this program to older adults across Franklin County. The goal of this grant-funded opportunity is to connect adults 55 and older with paid, hands-on training that leads directly into stable, entry-level jobs at local health centers. A unique aspect of this training, and something that we’re very proud of, is that this is a paid opportunity. Participants earn an hourly wage throughout the six-week training. This removes a significant barrier for individuals looking to make a change, and they will not need to choose between making ends meet and investing in their future. Learn more by clicking on the link below.

Print this articleAs you read this, spring has officially sprung! Spring has significance as a time of awakening and a time of renewal and rebirth. It brings with it a way of making things feel possible again. Maybe it’s the lack of snow and the arrival of greenery and flowers, or the...

03/28/2026

Following successful legislative advocacy by State Senator Jo Comerford and State Senator John Velis, an earmark in Governor Maura Healey’s FY26 state budget enabled LifePath to award $100,000 to 10 local Village organizations. Each organization received $10,000 to strengthen community-based, neighbor-to-neighbor supports for older adults across the region.

Villages are grassroots, volunteer-driven nonprofit organizations that help older adults remain active, connected, and independent in their homes and communities. With this funding, each Village will be able to build organizational capacity and support programs that expand essential, neighbor-to-neighbor supports such as transportation for medical appointments and other essential needs, social activities, technology assistance, and help at home.

“For years, constituents in local Villages across my district have taught me about the profound value and beauty of neighbors helping neighbors — especially in our disproportionately rural region,” said Senator Jo Comerford (D-Northampton). “It’s been an absolute pleasure to learn about the depth and breadth of services and support offered by dedicated volunteers. Glad to lead a successful earmark in the FY26 budget to support their work. Thank you to LifePath for facilitating the timely distribution of needed funds.” Learn more by clicking on the link below.

Print this articleFollowing successful legislative advocacy by State Senator Jo Comerford and State Senator John Velis, an earmark in Governor Maura Healey’s FY26 state budget enabled LifePath to award $100,000 to 10 local Village organizations. Each organization received $10,000 to strengthen com...

03/21/2026

When I meet with a new patient, the first thing I look at is the way the person walks and their shoes. The ways the shoe connects to the shape of someone’s foot has everything to do with the corns, callouses, and the irritations and even pain and discomfort that I will find when I examine their feet. A foot care session becomes a lesson about choice and fit and begins an investigation into how shoe choice impacts the body. This is insider shoe knowledge people benefit from knowing but seldom receive. Learn how to fit a shoe properly by clicking on the link below.

Print this articleWhen I meet with a new patient, the first thing I look at is the way the person walks and their shoes. The ways the shoe connects to the shape of someone’s foot has everything to do with the corns, callouses, and the irritations and even pain and discomfort tha...