Congratulations to the Community Champion Award winner

The Community Champion Award by Mom’s Meals^® and USAging recognized Richard Gaidoo from CICOA Aging & In-Home Solutions.

The award was presented by John Phillips, vice president of business development at Mom’s Meals on July 8, 2024, at the USAging Annual Conference in Tampa, Florida. Richard was unable to attend and Tauhric Brown CEO of CICOA received the Community Champion Award on Richard’s behalf.

Danielle Mosley, MSW, LSW and assistant director of PathWays to Aging, nominated Richard. Danielle shared that Richard provides each client with an exceptional experience and is quick to make that phone call or do an extra visit to help a client in need.

She added that Richard has been with CICOA for five years and his work is intentional with his clients and families. He has helped clients on several occasions that were being evicted in a matter of days to secure a safe place to stay until additional permanent housing was obtained. His work also includes helping clients that are in assisted living facilities. Besides meeting the basic needs of housing, Richard also ensures that his clients know where their next meal is coming from.

About the award

Four years ago, the Community Champion Award was founded to recognize case managers.

The Community Champion Award program is designed to:

• Highlight outstanding achievements by Area Agency on Aging and Title VI Native American Aging Program case managers in the areas of nutrition, health and healthy lifestyles
• Celebrate case managers who are doing outstanding work in their local communities
• Underscore the value of the case manager’s role in supporting the whole health of our communities
• Promote awareness of the importance of nutrition in overall health, particularly to reduce the impact of social determinants, to support individuals who want to age in their homes, and to support the management of chronic conditions

Congratulations again to Richard and to all the nominees!

Want to learn more?

Discover more about the Community Champion Award as well as more on this year’s winner, past winners and case manager nomination information.