Johnson County aging-in-place nonprofit has new leader

IOWA CITY — Iowa City native Christine Scheetz is at the helm of Johnson County-based TRAIL, one of the only nonprofits in Iowa dedicated to helping older adults age in place.

The nonprofit — which stands for Tools and Resources for Active Independent Living — puts on social and educational events and connects volunteers with older adults to help with things such as transportation, medical advocacy, phone-check ins and house or yard work.

Scheetz previously served on TRAIL’s board of directors and as chief executive officer of United Way of Johnson and Washington Counties. Scheetz said her background in public health and the nonprofit space, as well as her existing involvement in TRAIL, made it an easy decision to get involved as its executive director.

In her role as executive director, which she’s held since February, Scheetz oversees a variety of nonprofit functions from administration to fundraising to policy development and working with volunteers and the board of directors.

“I had done all of those things in previous roles that I've had, and so that just was really appealing, both because I enjoy that work, but also because I just knew that was kind of what the organization needed at this point. And the board certainly agreed, and I were really honored that they selected me to their next executive director,”

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Though Scheetz, an Iowa City native and University of Iowa graduate, developed a passion for aging health services while working in Indiana with an organization called Ground Game Health.

Ground Game Health “was affiliated with an area agent, a very progressive Area Agency on Aging, and that just really helped me make a shift from kind of bit more of a generalist in health and human services to really focusing on the aging population, and there was no turning back from there,” Scheetz said.

Scheetz has a master’s degree in public health from Drake University and has served in various public health roles within the UI Health Care system and throughout the state.

“TRAIL allows older adults to remain very independent in their lives, but not alone. They get to age in place, but with a lot of support around them and maintaining and increasing lifelong learning. There are many different outlets to learn and grow to keep your mind really active, as well as your body, but then also really tangible support such as help around the house,” Scheetz said.

Balanced growth for the organization

TRAIL has two staff members in Scheetz and member and volunteer service coordinator Jessica Hahn.

The nonprofit has two levels of membership: A full-service membership costs $720 a year for single individuals, and allows access to volunteer assistance and TRAIL’s social and educational events. Affiliate memberships, which cost $140 a year for single individuals, allow access to all TRAIL events and limited access to TRAIL volunteer services.

As Scheetz continues in the role, she wants to expand the reach of TRAIL services while keeping that growth sustainable.

“We talk a lot about balanced growth for TRAIL, and that means that we can't grow membership more quickly than we can grow our volunteer base, yeah, or vice versa … we always look at those things as going hand-in-hand and making those decisions jointly so that they support each other, and we're not developing faster in one area than in the other,” Scheetz said.

TRAIL has 250 members across membership levels, and over 100 volunteers. Additionally, 60 members also serve as volunteers for events and services.

Scheetz said the nonprofit can receive well over 100 requests for volunteer assistance a month. Scheetz said some of the most common requests are for transportation. But the nonprofit always is looking for feedback from members on what other services could be added.

TRAIL also is looking into expanding options for membership assistance. The nonprofit has 30 memberships that are fully sponsored or allow for a sliding scale payment through donations. Additionally, TRAIL will be able to add 14 more discounted memberships through a grant from the Community Foundation of Johnson County.

Comments: megan.woolard@thegazette.com

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