MIDDLEBURY — National Bank of Middlebury (NBM) is matching community donations to the Addison Home Fund, dollar for dollar, up to $5,000, through Friday, June 19, in support of a new, nonprofit residential care home that’s being installed in a former East Middlebury residence.

The Independent in January first reported on Addison County Home Health & Hospice’s (ACHHH) purchase of a 2,963-square-foot, five-bedroom home at 427 East Main St. in East Middlebury that’s being renovated into a level-three residential care home for up to eight medically frail adults.

ACHHH hired Salamander Construction to make an estimated $500,000 in improvements to the building in hopes of welcoming residents into the home this summer. Residents of the new facility will live in a home-like setting with 24-hour staffing, receiving nursing oversight, three nutritious meals each day and snacks, medication management, assistance with activities of daily living, laundry services and “opportunities for socialization and engagement.”

When residents need more support than living at home allows but do not require intensive nursing home care, local options are limited. This new ACHHH facility will allow community members to remain in Addison County, close to family, friends, and familiar surroundings.

NBM recently announced its plans to help ACHHH underwrite costs of the project.

As of last week, ACHHH was roughly midway to its $500,000 fundraising goal, according to Maureen Conrad, ACHHH’s director of development.

National Bank of Middlebury President Caroline Carpenter was happy to see the care home come into being.

“Addison County has needed something like this for a long time,” she said. “Addison County Home Health and Hospice has been part of this community for decades, and this project is exactly the kind of thing neighbors do for neighbors. We’re glad to help it move forward.”

Deb Wesley, the top administrator of ACHHH, thanked NBM for its financial support.

“We are honored to be the recipient of a donation from the National Bank of Middlebury, as well as matching funds from our generous community members,” she said

“NBM has supported us every step of the way for the past 58 years. We look forward to many more years of solid partnership, and we are exceptionally appreciative of this opportunity. This is one of the reasons that we bank locally.”

Wesley said the new care home project has been a labor of love.

“We have always believed that our friends and neighbors deserve to remain in our county as they age and are so pleased to be able to provide safe, comfortable housing for eight of our neighbors right here in the county we all know and love,” she said.

To donate, please click here: tinyurl.com/mppbyuee. To donate by check, make it payable to ACHHH and mail to P.O. Box 754, Middlebury, VT 05753, with “Addison Home Fund–NBM” in the memo line.

John Flowers is at [email protected].