All of the holiday festivities are in our rearview mirror. Diners Club participants were able to join together for their annual holiday parties for the first time in two years. The Roanoke area Diners Clubs gathered in LOA’s Center for Health & Wellness, and it was wonderful to see the center packed and used to serve the seniors of our valley. Thanks to everyone who donated items for the Old Fashion Stockings. This was a welcome treat for all the participants.

Thanks to everyone who took a tag from the Be a Santa to a Senior tree and helped deliver. We are so appreciative of the community support to provide gifts to seniors who otherwise would have received nothing for Christmas. We are particularly grateful to Second Presbyterian Church - for the month of November, their collection plate gathered donations for LOA. In addition, 75 "Be A Santa To A Senior" gifts were supplied just from their congregation.



Open Enrollment has concluded, and our staff and volunteers assisted 822 clients and realized an estimated savings of $172,627.98 to our region’s senior population. Special thanks to our volunteers to worked tirelessly and will continue to do so during the year.

LOA's Diners Clubs are a way for seniors to get together and socialize as well as enjoy a nutritious meal. There are extra activities throughout the year, but the holiday season always brings extra cheer!

We have had many wonderful volunteers and staff help deliver "Be A Santa To A Senior" presents this week. It's an annual tradition for a crew from Wells Fargo to come out and deliver gifts all day!

We appreciate all the donors, gift buyers, and delivery volunteers who helped us spread Christmas cheer to 158 of our LOA clients who would otherwise go without a gift.

It has been wonderful having the space at LOA’s Center for Health & Wellness to coordinate this project!

How Your Donation Helps:

• It costs nearly $10 per meal to provide Meals on Wheels to homebound elderly. In 2021, LOA served 120,808 meals to 12,040 persons. This is a significant increase in numbers due to seniors being more isolated during the pandemic.
• It costs an average of $68 per trip to provide Transportation to the doctor and other vital appointments. This includes assisted and unassisted trips to the doctor and grocery and pharmacy trips. In 2021, LOA made 22,466 one-way trips to transport 4,409 persons. The costs to provide this service has risen drastically and there continues to be a substantial waiting list for this vital service.
• It costs just over $10 per person to provide Emergency Services such as the provision of canes and walkers, Cooling Assistance and LOA’s Emergency Food Pantry. In 2021, LOA helped 8,853 seniors obtain emergency services. In addition, more than 2,300 bags of food were delivered during Soup for Seniors.
• LOA’s Personal Care and Homemaker services currently serve nearly 100 clients per year. However, they maintain a waiting list of nearly triple that number.
• In 2022, LOA’s Insurance Counselors assisted 2,361 seniors with their Medicare Part D Plans and Medicare enrollment.
• 525 persons were able to find resources in their community to help them stay in their own homes after spending time in the hospital through LOA’s Care Transitions.
• LOA provided 176 hours of service to help seniors with their Legal needs such as creating Power of Attorney documents and Living Wills.

With more than 32 community based services, LOA continues to strive to fulfill its mission of helping older persons remain independent for as long as possible. But we can’t do it alone. We will use donations to fill the plate of services where it is most needed. Examples of how your donation helps:

• $1,000 to assist more than 10 seniors with Legal Assistance
• $500 to assist one senior with in-home care
• $250 to assist 25 people with emergency services
• $100 to assist with vital trips to the doctor or pharmacy
• $25 for a day of Meals on Wheels and Diners Clubs

Need a Speaker?

VICAP, Virginia Insurance Counseling and Assistance Program, is continuing its efforts to educate the community of seniors and those soon to retire by providing free presentations in person or virtually. Contact LOA if you would like a free presentation concerning retirement, Social Security, Medicare, or FRAUD due to exploitation with insurance, medical billing, tax, and romance scams. Now is the time to contact us for information and to request a presentation for your group, organization, or employees.