Issue 7 / Volume 12

December 2019

www.mowdiabloregion.org ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Dear Friends, We at MOW Diablo Region have been touched by the outpouring of generosity from area companies, the community, our volunteers and staff, and our donors during this holiday season. You know how hard it is for seniors this time of year. Too many have lost loved ones and friends.They can’t drive or get out to shop. Making a meal is a challenge too hard to overcome.  So THANK YOU for stepping up to help these seniors. And thanks to all of you who are just getting ready to close out the year with the most generous gift that you can give to help our seniors. In this month’s newsletter we will share stories that demonstrate the generosity that you, your neighbors and your colleagues have shown to vulnerable seniors in the Diablo Region and even further: Across continents: A lesson on caring from a grandmother to her granddaughter. Making it easier for volunteers to get seniors to the doctor. Celebrating Brentwood and Oakley volunteer drivers with handmade ornaments. Share the Love – Put a shiny new Subaru “under the tree” and choose Meals on Wheels as your charity of choice – just two more weeks! How So Many Came Together to Brighten a Senior’s Day. Wishing you all a happy holiday and a New Year filled with health and happiness. Carrie Blanding Interim Executive Director

FEEDING THE HUNGRY CROSSES GENERATIONS AND CONTINENTS

Nancy Raniere (left) and her granddaughter Emma Rigby (pictured at right), coordinated food drives to feed the hungry in the Bay Area and the city of Blackburn North in Australia.

Is generosity and compassion inherited or is it something that is learned by watching others? Maybe it’s a little bit of both for Australian five-year old, Emma Rigby. As the granddaughter of MOW Diablo Regions’ Nutrition Services Manager, Nancy Raniere, Emma has had a positive role-model when it comes to helping and feeding people.   Recently, Emma was saddened when she saw a homeless man sleeping in a doorway. When she asked about it, her mother explained that some people didn’t have money to pay for a place to live or even food. Emma took this to heart and decided she would help feed those who couldn’t afford food. With help from her teacher, she organized a food drive at her preschool. She decorated a large box and her schoolmates brought in food that filled four more boxes which they delivered to the local food bank. Meanwhile, across the world… Emma’s Grandma Nancy was also coordinating a food drive. For over six years MOW Diablo Region has participated in The Food Bank of Contra Costa & Solano’s Food Drive Barrel campaign. From MOW Diablo Region staff, Nancy collected approximately 150 pounds of food to benefit the senior food program and ultimately feed vulnerable, home-bound seniors.

When it comes to Emma and Grandma Nancy, it’s obvious that generosity and humanity is something they share and it doesn’t have an age limit! As you make your holiday donations this season take the time to encourage your children to discuss how to help the less fortunate. The world will be better off!  Beautiful Emma is the face of a future in which we all take care of each other through acts of charity and kindness.

HABIT OF GIVING – WORKING TOGETHER TO KEEP SENIORS HEALTHY

Los Medanos Community Health District's Executive Director, Lamar Thorpe presents MOW Diablo Region staff with a check for $10,000.

Meals on Wheels Diablo Region wants to thank the Los Medanos Community Healthcare District for its generous $10,000 donation to help ensure that low-income seniors can travel to their doctor’s appointments through the SOS Rides project. For over six years, MOW Diablo Region has partnered with Los Medanos Community Healthcare District to keep seniors healthy by helping to eliminate transportation barriers that prevent them from maintaining good health. Oftentimes seniors with mobility issues find it extremely challenging to use public buses, and paratransit or other comparable services are not always available. The SOS Rides project provides gas cards to seniors, who in turn use the cards to say “thank you” to the volunteers who drive them to health care appointments, and typically accompany the senior into the appointment, and then drive them home again. This program makes it just a little easier for volunteers—many of whom are low-income seniors themselves—to help their neighbors. Dorothy is one senior who has benefited from the SOS Rides project. She is 77 years old, single, lives alone, and doesn’t drive. She relies on a walker because she has severe arthritis and complications from diabetes.   Before the SOS Rides project, Dorothy had to take the bus, hauling her walker up and down the stairs to her doctor’s appointments. Now, she is thankful that she can rely on volunteers to drive her to appointments, providing door-through-door service, from her front door to the doctor, and home again. This has made all the difference in her life and her ability to maintain her health.

MOW Diablo Region works with senior human services groups in the region to identify seniors in need of this important and lifesaving program. “We at Meals on Wheels Diablo Region truly appreciate our long partnership with Los Medanos Community Healthcare District,” explains Carrie Blanding, Interim Executive Director of MOW Diablo Region. “We provide an array of services that address the multiple needs of our elderly population. This project is another important way for us to keep seniors healthy.”  Los Medanos Community Healthcare District's generous donation allows seniors like Dorothy to provide a token of thanks to the volunteers who shuttle her to vital healthcare appointments.

DID YOU CHANGE A LIFE TODAY?

Hazel and her Friendly Visitor, Lynn enjoy their time together. They love to play board games and chat about their life experiences.

Every day we go through our daily routine without considering the power we have to change a life. At Meals on Wheels Diablo Region a hot meal delivered to a vulnerable senior, a friendly visit, help with preventing a fall, or assistance from our other lifesaving services impacts an elderly person’s life. You have the power to change a vulnerable senior’s life today with your donation to MOW Diablo Region. A family member recently wrote to tell us how MOW Diablo Region is making a difference in the life of their relative who lives far from them. “I don't know what my family and I would do to feed our great aunt. Knowing a meal will be delivered every day is a relief to our family and is helping to keep our aunt alive.”

The funds we raise during this holiday season allow MOW Diablo Region to continue to deliver meals and provide the wrap-around services that have a dramatic positive effect in the lives of seniors on your street, in your neighborhood and in your community. Your support will also help us in emergency situations, like it did during the fall power outages, when we were able to respond to the unique needs of those people who depended on us, our dedicated volunteers and also on you! Please help us change and improve the lives of vulnerable seniors with your donation today!

CELEBRATING OUR BRENTWOOD AND OAKLEY VOLUNTEER DRIVERS

MOW Diablo Region showed love for our volunteer drivers from the cities of Brentwood and Oakley last week by participating in City of Brentwood’s “Deck the Park” holiday festivity. Good cheer and community camaraderie were on full display as individuals, families, and community organizations decorated 50 trees that lined City Park. Some trees were whimsical, others more traditional, but they all displayed creative flair. MOW Diablo Region went all out with handmade ornaments in the shape of a wheel adorned with colorful plates and utensils, each having the name of our volunteer drivers from Brentwood and Oakley. We had lots of fun and were excited to be able to express our gratitude to some of our drivers with the community display. And of course, to all our volunteers who make a difference in all our other cities and towns, we want you to know that you are every bit as special and we couldn’t do what we do without you. Happy holidays to all!

TWELVE YEARS RUNNING: SUBARU SHARE THE LOVE® EVENT PUTS NEW OWNERS IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT

In the market to purchase or lease a new car? If safety and reliability are high on your wish list you might want to consider a new Subaru. Through January 2, 2020, for every new Subaru vehicle purchased or leased, Subaru will donate $250 to the customer’s choice of participating charities. Since 2008, Subaru of America, Inc. and its retailers have helped Meals on Wheels nationwide deliver more than 2.2 MILLION MEALS to seniors in need. When customers select Meals on Wheels as their charity of choice during the 2019 Subaru Share the Love Event, Meals on Wheels Diablo Region will be able to ensure that even more seniors receive the nutritious meals and daily visits they need. Learn how you and Subaru of America, Inc. can share the love at www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org/sharethelove.

A LITTLE EXTRA SOMETHING WITH THEIR MEAL

This holiday season, several wonderful companies and groups across the Bay Area came together to spread holiday cheer to the seniors we serve. Volunteer groups rallied to quilt handmade placements, create heartfelt cards, and fill bags of food to give seniors a warm and happy holiday season. We’d like to give a shout out to Red Spoon Quilters, Walnut Creek Intermediate School, TAPS, Scrappy Quilters, LendUs, DVMCL, Merrill Lynch, Pledge to Humanity (and the special young men who shopped on their behalf), Del Monte, AF Group, CompWest, and AssetMark for helping make the season brighter for seniors across Contra Costa County. MOW Diablo Region welcomes companies and organizations of all sizes to participate in volunteer projects throughout the entire year! To learn more about group volunteer opportunities contact Lee Davenport at ldavenport@mowdr.org or 925.954.8736.

Welcome to the Meals on Wheels Diablo Region family of volunteers! Click here to see the list of our newest volunteers.

MOW Diablo Region staff and volunteers will be out at the Bay Point C.C. Cafe on Friday, 12/20 and the Pittsburg C.C. Cafe on Monday, 12/23 distributing grocery items to our most vulnerable cafe regulars who would otherwise be impacted by the closures during the holidays. Thank you to all who contributed to this important effort.

Seniors are experiencing all kinds of health benefits through our Tai Chi classes! Be sure to also check out the December schedule for our Health & Wellness activities.

You are receiving this email because you may have opted to receive communication from us. © Meals on Wheels Diablo Region 2019. All rights reserved. Meals on Wheels Diablo Region 1300 Civic Dr, Walnut Creek, CA, 94596 United States mowdiabloregion.org