LOA News and Notes

LOA News

& Notes

January 2025

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Helping Older Persons Remain Independent for as Long as Possible.

Soup for Seniors : Give a Senior a Hot Meal on a Cold Day

LOA's annual canned food drive starts in January! Donate soup and other canned food at one of our drop-off locations now, or to our main collection site from January 29 - February 5: The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, 4909 North Lake Drive, Roanoke, VA 24019. Click the button below for the list of drop-off sites:

Soup Drop-Off Locations

Special collection will be held at Black Dog Salvage on January 25 - 26! Donate at least $10 worth of food at Black Dog on Jan. 25 or 26 and get 10% off your eligible purchase!

Thank you to our Silver Sponsor:

Salem Lions Club

VOLUNTEERS needed! Click the button below for volunteer opportunities available January 25-February 10. If you have any questions, please contact Aimee Lawson at LOA at (540) 345-0451.

Learn more

Make a gift

A Matter of Balance Falls Prevention Class

A Matter of Balance is an award-winning program designed to manage falls and increase activity levels.

Classes meet once a week for 8 weeks, for 2 hours each class

Thursdays, January 23 – March 13

10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

At Harvest Ministries, 909 Blue Ridge Blvd, Roanoke, VA 24012

To register or for information, please contact Delaine Caldwell at (540) 345-0451 ext. 3041 or click the button below.

Many older adults experience concerns about falling and restrict their activities. This program emphasizes practical strategies to manage falls. Participants will learn how to:

View falls as controllable
Set realistic goals for increasing activity
Reduce their fall risk at home and in their environment
Increase balance and strength with the exercises

Who should attend? Anyone concerned about falls; anyone interested in improving balance, flexibility, and strength; anyone who has fallen in the past; anyone who has restricted activities because of falling concerns.

Volunteer with us

Hungry seniors in your neighborhood need your help today! Do you have 1-2 hours available, once a week or once a month, to drive Meals on Wheels?

You could even sign up to be a substitute driver on an as-needed basis! LOA has 9 sites across our area that deliver Meals on Wheels, and we are happy to work with you and your schedule for any site or dates that are convenient for you.

If you already volunteer, thank you! Please share this information with others who may be interested in helping seniors.

Karis Christmas for Seniors

Thank you to all who made the holidays bright for 303 older adults in need: the generous donors who gave hundreds of gifts, the volunteers who helped sort and tag the gifts, and the volunteer Santas who delivered the gifts directly to our seniors! We were pleased to partner with Karis Care Services as part of their Karis Christmas for Seniors program, to bring holiday gifts to LOA’s service recipients who may not otherwise receive any gifts this season.

Our sincere thanks to the following who adopted large numbers of seniors for this program:

AARP Virginia
AccessU
Beta Sigma Phi Sorority Delta Master Chapter
Craig County, VA Department of Social Services
New Century Church
Second Presbyterian Church
Wells Fargo

Diner's Clubs Christmas Party

We had a holly jolly time at the Diners Club Christmas Party! Our congregate meal program, called Diner’s Club, is for those seniors who are not homebound but who could benefit from a nutritious meal and socialization.

For the first time in five years, all nine of our Diners Clubs were able to come together for a festive afternoon filled with delicious food, live seasonal music, fellowship, and a visit from Santa himself! Thank you to our friends at North Roanoke Baptist Church for generously hosting us!

Each senior received a holiday gift bag filled with goodies thanks to many donations from the local community. And every Diner’s Club decorated their own Christmas tree and brought it to the party for a contest. The Fincastle Diner’s Club’s tree, decorated with angels, won the contest and they will get a pizza party!

Thank you to North Roanoke Baptist Church, to Keith Woods for his beautiful music, and to Santa and Mrs. Claus for making the holidays bright for seniors!

Gifts and Grants Update

LOA is deeply grateful to the following individuals and organizations for their recent generous gifts, grants, and donations of food & toiletries:

Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church

First Fridays at Five, Inc.

Stanley Hill

William Peters

Roanoke City Emergency Food and Shelter Program

Vinton Moose Family Center #1121

Valcom

Vinton Roofing Company

David and Nancy Craighead

Carolyn Daugherty

Janet Kinsey

Deborah Mattern

Berkeley Riley, Jr.

Carilion Pre-surgical Testing

ETA Delta Kappa Gamma Chapter

Mountain City Realty & Auction, LLC

Roanoke City Retired Educators

Roanoke City Retirees Association

Donations of Boost and Ensure needed!

LOA’s Emergency Food Pantry provides emergency bags of food for our seniors who have urgent needs, and we are running low on Boost and Ensure type nutritional drinks. Please check expiration dates before donating items. Come to LOA Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at our main office: 4932 Frontage Road NW, Roanoke, VA 24019.

Please call when you arrive, and we’ll be happy to help you unload your donations: (540) 345-0451

Make your gift to LOA and help us fill the plate of services, where it is needed most.

$1,000 enables LOA to help more seniors with Transportation to the doctor, pharmacy, or grocery store. Costs have risen drastically for this vital service. We provided more than 11,000 rides for more than 1,600 seniors in 2023.
$500 assists one senior with In-Home Care. 100 clients received Personal Care Services in 2023. The waiting list is nearly twice that number.
$250 delivers 30 Meals on Wheels, or 20 Diner's Club lunches. Volunteers delivered more than 114,000 meals last year. This year, Meals on Wheels is expected to have its first significant waiting list since before 2020.