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St. Vincent Meals on Wheels Essay Wins Grant Money to Help Local Seniors in Need
Subaru’s “Share the Love Event” inspires sharing stories of bringing food and compassion to local seniors
Los Angeles, CA (December 3, 2010) – St. Vincent Meals on Wheels (SVMOW) has just won a $100 grant from the Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA)/Subaru “Share the Love” grant program. The winning essay describes how the organization’s volunteers show kindness and compassion for the homebound seniors to whom they deliver warm, nutritious meals every day. SVMOW is now entering the next phase of the holiday competition which relies on getting the most Facebook users to “Like” our story. Winning that portion of the contest could earn SVMOW up to an additional $500.
The money comes at a critical time for SVMOW and the more than 140 other grant winners nationwide. The country’s economic downturn has made it more difficult to raise money to continue feeding our community’s homebound and other hungry seniors. The privately funded non-profit plans to use the money to feed over 3,000 homebound seniors in the Los Angeles area.
The MOWAA/Subaru “Share the Love” grant is tied to Subaru’s Share the Love Event. The Share the Love Event will run from November 20, 2010 – January 3, 2011. Subaru will donate $250 for every new Subaru vehicle sold or leased to the customer's choice of one of five charities, including MOWAA.
“These Meals on Wheels programs share love every day by bringing food and companionship to America’s hungry seniors,” said MOWAA President and CEO Enid Borden. “For the third year in a row Subaru has generously included Meals on Wheels in its Share the Love Event. We want the world to read these stories and find out more about what these amazing Meals On Wheels programs do every day to ‘Share the Love’ in their communities.”
“This is the season of giving and we are so thankful that Subaru has decided to give back to our program to help us deliver meals to our clients for the holidays,” said Sister Alice Marie Quinn, Founder and Director of St. Vincent Meals on Wheels. “This partnership enables us to ease the pain and loneliness and isolation for those who are homebound. It is a time for sharing and we very grateful for Subaru’s support.”
The next phase of this competition relies on getting the most Facebook users to “Like” this story. More than 140 “Share the Love” essays from programs across the country have been posted on MOWAA’s member blog. The Meals on Wheels program with the most “Likes” will win an additional $500. Those placing 2nd through 10th will receive an additional $250. To “Like” the local essay submitted for this Facebook contest, go to www.mowaablog.org and search St Vincent Meals on Wheels.
Walmart Foundation Grant to Meals on Wheels Association of America to Help Feed Hungry Seniors at St. Vincent Meals on Wheels
Grant received at critical time as economy threatens seniors in Los Angeles St. Vincent Meals on Wheels (SVMOW) has been awarded $15,000 through a Walmart Foundation grant to the Meals on Wheels Association of America (MOWAA). The money will provide SVMOW with much-needed new refrigerated truck which will allow us to deliver essential meals to seniors in crisis.
This financial support is desperately needed as many Meals on Wheels programs across the country are struggling to survive during this economic downturn. The "Waltmart Foundation Impact Grant" is intended to help St. Vincent Meals on Wheels continue to meet the long term equipment needs of providing meals to our seniors in Los Angeles.
Last year, many Meals on Wheels programs were forced to change or reduce their services, but the Walmart Foundation stepped in to help restore those meals. This year, the Walmart Foundation is spending more than $2 million nationwide to make sure Meals on Wheels programs have the equipment they need to maintain their operations into the future.
"Seniors have been hit especially hard in this economy, and we feel a resposibility to help," said Margaret McKenna, president of the Walmart Foundation. "We're proud to support Meals on Wheels programs across the U.S. who work on the front lines of ending senior hunger."
“Thanks to the Walmart Foundation Impact Grant, we now have better tools to keep feeding seniors,” said Sister Alice Marie Quinn, Executive Director and Founder of St. Vincent Meals on Wheels. ”This grant will help us provide the next meal to many of our clients in need and will truly make a difference for the seniors of Los Angeles.”
“The Walmart Foundation has once again stepped up to the plate as a powerful partner in the fight to end senior hunger,” said Enid Borden, president and CEO of MOWAA. “They are our largest corporate partner to date and their support will make a tremendous impact in helping our programs sustain meal services well into the future. We can’t thank the Walmart Foundation enough for joining us in our national movement to end senior hunger in America by 2020.”
Late last year MOWAA released a groundbreaking study revealing six million seniors in America face the risk of hunger. The report, entitled, “Senior Hunger in the United States: Differences across States and Rural and Urban Areas” was sponsored by MOWAA and shows that the number of seniors facing the hunger risk jumped an astonishing 20 percent in just one year. The Walmart Impact Grant Program is intended to help combat the problem of senior hunger.
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Walmart – and its domestic and international foundations – gave more than $423 million in cash and in-kind gifts globally. To learn more, visit www.walmartfoundation.org
Metro Employees Assemble 200 Gift Bags of Holiday Cheer for Homebound Seniors
(Dec. 24, 2009) A number of Metro staff were sequestered in the Union Station Conference Room on Monday, busily stuffing 200 gift bags for seniors and homebound people served by the St. Vincent Meals on Wheels program.
"The holiday season is the loneliest time of the year for the city's poorest seniors, many of whom are homebound without the means or capability to get around," says Tess Fitzpatrick, senior administrative analyst at the Metro San Fernando Valley.
Fitzpatrick knows first-hand the joys a hot meal and warm greetings can bring to the forgotten elders. She's a volunteer runner for the St. Vincent Meals on Wheels program.
She and other Metro volunteers have been collecting useful items for the goodie bags that will be delivered to seniors along with their holiday meal on Christmas Day.
Ultimately, St. Vincent Meals on Wheels delivered 1,500 gift bags this season to homebound seniors and 300 gift bags will be distributed to the homeless.
American Public Media
American Public Media visited our kitchen on April 24th. Kai Ryssdal of Marketplace interviewed Sister Alice Marie and Daryl Twerdahl, Executive Director of St. Vincent Meals on Wheels Foundation. Click here search under “Charity-Giving” and listen to a great interview!
St. Vincent Meals on Wheels Awarded Grant from Meals on Wheels Association of America and Wal-Mart Foundation to Cure Senior Hunger.
Grant given at a time when program is struggling to feed Los Angeles seniors
2/10/09 – St. Vincent Meals on Wheels has been awarded a $10,000 grant from Meals on Wheels Association of America (MOWAA) and the Wal-Mart Foundation to support our local program in doing what we do best – feed seniors.
The MOWAA/Wal-Mart Foundation Cure Grant is intended to alleviate the severe operating constraints brought on by rising food and gas prices and the current economic crisis. At St. Vincent Meals on Wheels, a program which serves as a safety net for seniors in need, this grant will provide vital funds to restore nutrition services to seniors who had been left at risk by the cutbacks in their local meals programs.
“With the MOWAA/Wal-Mart Foundation Cure Grant, we will be able to feed more of our senior clients who might have been on a waiting list for services from other programs and make a tremendous impact in our community,” said Executive Director Sr. Alice Marie Quinn of St. Vincent Meals on Wheels. “We are receiving requests for support and emergency help from meal programs that are struggling just to keep their doors open. The current crisis is leaving many homebound seniors without the nutritional support they need. This grant will help us reach the most vulnerable of our Los Angeles neighbors.
Over 11.4 percent of seniors in the country are at risk of hunger and the fact that the population is aging at an unprecedented rate put a significant strain on community-based Meals on Wheels programs’ ability to provide meals for those in need. The “MOWAA/Wal-Mart Foundation Cure Grant Program” is intended to increase the number of individuals served and reserve the forced reduction in meal services seen at Meals on Wheels programs throughout the nation.
“We can’t thank the Wal-Mart Foundation enough for supporting us in our mission and remembering the seniors we serve during this desperate time,” said Enid Borden, President and CEO of MOWAA.