A common adage holds that a test of any civilization's humanity can be found in how it treats its elders.

Gulf County received a significant boost toward a passing grade this week.

The St. Joe Community Foundation donated $30,000 to the Gulf County Senior Citizens Association, providing funding to extend a host of services to seniors.

Those include home-delivered meals, homemaker services and emergency medical assistance.

"It's the biggest single donation we've ever received," said Jerry Stokoe, executive director of the county Senior Citizens Association. "This is really, really big."

And it also carried a very personal feel.

The foundation, which is funded through sales of Arvida properties in the communities it serves, has spread its dollars around Northwest Florida, providing needed funding for a host of initiatives aimed at improving community life in Gulf, Franklin, Bay and Walton counties.

But few have seemed to carry the faces - creased maybe, a bit of snow on top surely - that accompany this particular donation.

The faces of those currently on waiting lists who will now have valued meals delivered to their homes.

The faces of those who will have assistance in maintaining their homes, making beds, washing dishes and clothes, sweeping floors, the light housekeeping that can seem heavy to the elderly.

"The whole idea behind the foundation is to help change the quality of life for people in the community," said Pam Selton, executive director of the St. Joe Community Foundation. "The elderly and children are our most vulnerable. This (donation) is fundamental."

For starters it will allow the Senior Citizens Association to take 20-30 people off the waiting list for home-delivered meals.

It will mean the safety net will be fortified, as seniors in the county receive help in securing essential medical equipment, making minor home repairs and receiving emergency assistance for utility payments.

"Many of these people have been waiting for these services and we are truly grateful to have the support of the (foundation) so that we can respond to their needs," Stokoe said.

The dollars, the services they will provide, will be distributed based on need, Stokoe added.

In a county where some 42 percent of folks live at or below the federal poverty level, well, we're talking potentially life-saving assistance.

"That way we can have a consistent measurement of what is used and how they are being used," Stokoe said, adding that such statistics will also serve, down the line, to illustrate the enormity of the grant and the need it is trying to address.

Stokoe also noted that through a separate grant, the St. Joe Community Foundation is making it possible for those in need, regardless of age, to purchase new wheelchairs.

"We just thank them for their compassion and desire to help our seniors," Stokoe said.

This week's donation was the product of ongoing dialogue between Stokoe, Selton and Clay Smallwood, president of St. Joe Timberland Co., and recently named to the foundation board.

The conversation was barely initiated before it was clear that there was a void the foundation could effectively fill.

"The Senior Citizens Association is one of the most effective, responsive organizations in Gulf County," Smallwood said. "The foundation is pleased to play a role in making these essential services accessible to more individuals in need."