Friendly Visitor Program Receives $5,000 FROM MEALS ON WHEELS AMERICA AND CAESARS FOUNDATION TO SUPPORT FRIENDLY VISITOR PROGRAM
Much-Needed Funding Helps Connect Volunteers with Socially-Isolated Seniors in Alexandria
Alexandria, VA January 29, 2019 –SSA’s Friendly Visitor program is proud to announce that it has received a $5,000 grant from Meals on Wheels America and Caesars Foundation to help expand its Friendly Visitor program for its Meals on Wheels clients. Funding will support SSA in offering seniors an additional opportunity for socialization beyond regular meal delivery.
“We are so excited to expand what is already an incredibly powerful program to those in our Meals on Wheels program too,” Mary Lee Anderson, Executive Director of Senior Services of Alexandria said Monday. “We’re grateful to have the funds to do this.”
In total, Meals on Wheels America and Caesars Foundation distributed $70,000 in Expanding Friendly Visitor Programs grants this year in Caesars Entertainment markets. The grants will enable recipients to pursue volunteer recruitment, training and volunteer-client matching, among other things.
“Isolation and loneliness are prevalent issues among older adults, with one in three over the age of 60 experiencing loneliness, and the effects on their health and well-being are significant,” said Meals on Wheels America President and CEO Ellie Hollander. “Friendly Visitor programs are an invaluable way to keep homebound seniors engaged and provide them with much-needed companionship and support on a more regular basis, and we’re thrilled to be able to contribute to [program name]’s effort to do just that, thanks to ongoing support from Caesars Foundation.”
Currently, SSA’s Friendly Visitor Program serves over 64 seniors in the City.
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About Senior Services of Alexandria’s Friendly Visitor Program
The Friendly Visitor Program is designed to enhance the quality of life of seniors in the City of Alexandria by providing social interaction, mental stimulation, and emotional support. Carefully screened and trained volunteers are individually matched with socially isolate seniors living in assisted living and health care communities or in their own homes, condos, and apartments. Once a volunteer is paired up with a senior who has similar interests and life experiences, the volunteer visits their senior for an hour each week. Over 300 matches have been made since the program began in 2012.
If you would like to volunteer and make a difference in a senior’s life or you know someone who would benefit from the Friendly Visitor Program, contact Mary Giordano at (703) 836-4414, ext. 120 or friendlyvisitor@seniorservicesalex.org.
About Caesars Foundation
Caesars Foundation is a private foundation funded by resorts owned or operated by the Caesars group. The Foundation is the entity through which Caesars Entertainment funds programs and projects of $5,000 or more, as well as not-for-profit giving requirements imposed by certain operating jurisdictions. The Foundation’s objective is to strengthen organizations and programs in the communities where our employees and their families live and work. Learn more at www.caesarsfoundation.org.
About Meals on Wheels America
Meals on Wheels America is the leadership organization supporting the more than 5,000 community-based programs across the country that are dedicated to addressing senior isolation and hunger. This network serves virtually every community in America and, along with more than two million staff and volunteers, delivers the nutritious meals, friendly visits and safety checks that enable America’s seniors to live nourished lives with independence and dignity. By providing funding, leadership, education, research and advocacy support, Meals on Wheels America empowers its local member programs to strengthen their communities, one senior at a time. For more information, or to find a Meals on Wheels provider near you, visit www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org.
