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Dear Friends:
What’s your favorite thing about the holidays? What puts you in that festive mood? If you’re like me, it’s two things: food and family.
Sharing a meal with the ones you love - whether your legal family or your chosen family - is at the heart of the way many of us celebrate. And there’s one other thing that really puts the holiday joy over the top, of course: Helping others.
Your joy during the holiday season increases exponentially when you touch the life of someone in need.
At Meals on Wheels Diablo Region, we touch lives every day by providing food, friendship, and service to others. Won’t you join us in spreading that joy? Become a volunteer driver and
deliver a meal. Sign up to be a
friendly visitor and spend time with a senior who may be all alone this season. Or
make a donation so MOW Diablo Region can do all of the above and
much more.
MOW Diablo Region’s fundraising letter will be hitting your mailbox (and your inbox) any day now. Donations from this holiday letter provide the LARGEST SOURCE OF FUNDS we receive to help seniors all year. Please open it. Read about the ways that YOU can change the life of a senior this holiday season with your gift. And
join us in making the season bright for thousands of seniors who are waiting for your help.
In this month’s newsletter we have inspiring stories of how MOW Diablo Region and our community are helping seniors in your neighborhood right now:
- Anti-bullying campaign (Yes, bullying has no age limit!)
- Honoring senior veterans
- How to help a senior when you buy a car
- Introducing new board member Renee Morgan (Bonus quiz: Of what Bay Area city was she recently the Mayor?)
- A call for birthday gifts for homebound seniors
- An important food drive that will keep vulnerable seniors fed during holiday closures
Thanks for all you do for seniors and for our communities! Happy holidays!
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Carrie Blanding
Interim Executive Director
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OUR C.C. CAFE GUESTS SAY NO WAY(!)
TO BULLYING BEHAVIOR
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Bullying isn’t just for kids on the playground. Surprisingly there is a rising trend of peer-to-peer bullying among seniors, but MOW Diablo Region has taken proactive measures to ensure that seniors at our C.C. Cafés understand what constitutes bullying and provided strategies to prevent feeling and being victimized.
On National Unity Day, Café guests at our six Cafès participated in a presentation by managers and staff about bullying. They were asked to wear orange as a show of “uniting for kindness, acceptance and inclusion.” Presenters asked for a show of hands to see if guests had experienced bullying and many had. Guests were assured that reporting a bullying incident was important and were reminded that there is a zero-tolerance policy for bullying at our Café.
Elder bullying can happen for many reasons and can take the form of social ostracism, gossiping, verbal abuse, offensive gestures and negative nonverbal body language. Individuals who have a history of bullying or intimidating others often continue the process even with age. Sometimes in a group setting, inner tendencies arise, and underlying negative characteristics come out. Other times there may be a medical condition or cognitive issues that causes the person to act out.
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Whether it is subtle mistreatment or more aggressive behavior, bullying is unacceptable and cannot be tolerated in any population. MOW Diablo Region and our Café staff are committed to recognizing, understanding, and correcting the problem to ensure a safe and a happy social situation for our senior guests.
To learn more about our C.C. Cafés where senior guests age 60+ go to eat a healthy, delicious lunch and socialize with friends click
here.
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Caf
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guests were asked for a show of hands is they had experienced bullying by their peers.
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HABIT OF GIVING – VETERANS AT POST 6435 HAVE MADE MEALS POSSIBLE SINCE 2005
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Commander Denny Hollison from the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6435 in Antioch holds a special place in his heart for Meals on Wheels Diablo Region. His late father was a volunteer for many years at a MOW in the Central Valley. “I remember back twenty-five years ago to my father delivering meals to seniors who depended on them.”
Since 2005, Post 6435 has supported MOW Diablo Region. But it’s not just Hollison’s memories of his father’s deliveries that encouraged him and the Post to support the agency. It is because of the meals MOW Diablo Region delivers five days a week to many elderly veterans living in Antioch. “For some of these veterans, it’s the only meal of the day,” adds Hollison. “As long as the VFW is here, Meals on Wheels Diablo Region will always receive a donation.”
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MOW Diablo Region is glad to support our veterans and we in turn appreciate the support of Commander Hollison and all the veterans at Post 6435 who help us to make these meals possible. It’s a great partnership that we hope will continue for years to come.
If you're interested in making a recurring donation to sustain our services now and into the future click here:
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WE’RE PROUD TO ONCE AGAIN PARTNER WITH SUBARU TO SHARE THE LOVE!
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MOW Diablo Region staff launched our Share the Love campaign by dropping off a BIG card and some donuts to Diablo Subaru of Walnut Creek.
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Exciting news! For the twelfth year running, the national Meals on Wheels network is participating in the Subaru Share the Love Event. Over the past eleven years, Subaru and its retailers have helped Meals on Wheels to deliver nearly 2 million meals nationwide to seniors in need. This year, Meals on Wheels Diablo Region is pleased to be chosen by
Diablo Subaru of Walnut Creek to be one of its charities of choice!
Why does Subaru support Meals on Wheels? Too many seniors are struggling to stay independent and healthy at home. One in four seniors lives alone in isolation and one in seven seniors might not know where their next meal is coming from. This is simply unacceptable, which is why Meals on Wheels Diablo Region delivers nutritious meals, friendly visits, and safety checks to the seniors of Contra Costa County. This vital support helps seniors stay in their own homes, where they want to be.
Learn more about this year's Subaru Share the Love program
here.
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WELCOME OUR NEWEST
BOARD MEMBER RENEE MORGAN
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MOW Diablo Region is pleased to welcome our newest board member Renee Morgan. Renee has served as Mayor of Danville and currently serves on the Town Council. She brings to MOW Diablo Region energetic and idea-driven leadership, and a passion for serving seniors. Through her work with nonprofits she has spearheaded numerous events and fundraisers for more than 30 years.
When she ran for election almost eight years ago, Renee made it a personal quest to focus on the aging population. When a family member was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Renee saw clearly the need for seniors to have sustained interaction and a balanced meal. She witnessed on many occasions seniors who did not have a support system. Through her work as an elected official she strengthened Danville’s senior programs and enthusiastically welcomes the opportunity to do the same for the MOW Diablo Region’s program. “I have had the pleasure to deliver meals to seniors in our area and arranged for other organizations to contribute and support Meals on Wheels,” says Renee.
Welcome to the MOW Diablo Region Family Renee. We look forward to your innovative ideas for supporting seniors!
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THE BIRTHDAY LADIES KEEP ON
GIVING THE GIFT OF SERVICE
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The Birthday Ladies make sure every MOW client receives a lovely bag full of fun goodies to celebrate their birthday.
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In 2019, our amazing volunteer group, "The Birthday Ladies," created over 1,000 birthday gift bags and cards for our Meals on Wheels Diablo Region clients. Last month alone they put together 113 gift bags! Thanks to their generous donation of gifts and time, every MOW client receives a card, gift of toiletries and useful items, and some fun goodies to celebrate their birthday.
Margaret R. sent us a note expressing her gratitude for the birthday bag she received. "What a lovely surprise I had yesterday, which was my 90th birthday. The nice lady who dropped off my meal presented me with a pretty gift bag with all sorts of goodies in it including a blue washcloth, one of the things I really needed! It was something totally unexpected which made it so much fun!"
The Birthday Ladies are getting ready for another year of celebrations in 2020 and they would love your help!
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They are in need of the following items:
- washcloths
- bar soap
- hand sanitizer (small bottles)
- lotion (small tubes or bottles)
- Chapstick
- Kleenex (pocket size)
- toothbrush
- toothpaste (travel size)
- playing cards
- pens
- small spiral notepads
- stamps
If you would like to donate any of these items, please drop them off at the MOW Diablo Region office located at 1300 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek, or email us at
info@mowdr.org for more information.
Thank you to the Birthday Ladies for making birthdays brighter for seniors throughout Contra Costa County!
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HOLIDAY FOOD DRIVE -
WE NEED YOUR HELP TO SUPPORT OUR NEEDIEST SENIORS DURING THE HOLIDAYS
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Food items and important household items are stacked and ready for vulnerable seniors to choose from.
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In December, MOW Diablo Region, community partners, board members, volunteers, and staff will once again rally together to make sure that seniors who need nourishing meals will receive them during the holiday closure of our Bay Point and Pittsburg Cafès. This food drive is a vital effort that provides grocery bags and breakfast bowls full of healthy groceries, including fruits and vegetables and much needed household items to our most vulnerable guests who may not have anyone to take them to the store or who rely on the Cafès for their only meal of the day.
Last year’s drive meant 108 seniors didn’t go without food during the closures. Seniors were invited to fill their shopping bags with the donated food items during a designated “shopping” day at Bay Point C.C. Cafè. 53 additional seniors at the Pittsburg Café were also provided a bag of healthy groceries. The event was a true celebration of community members coming together to support those in need and was lifesaving for some very grateful seniors.
If you would like to donate goods, money or time to this important effort please contact Bonnie Paulson at
bpaulson@mowdr.org or 925.357.9706.
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Nutritious breakfast bowl kits were popular with the appreciative recipients.
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Welcome to the Meals on Wheels Diablo Region family of volunteers!
Click here
to see the list of our newest volunteers.
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Ho! Ho! Ho! Come out to Brentwood City Park from December 8 - January 2 to view MOW Diablo Region's decorated tree! The City will also be celebrating 12 nights of Christmas with lots of
fun, free activities.
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Seniors are experiencing all kinds of health benefits through our Tai Chi classes! Be sure to also check out the
November schedule
for our Health & Wellness activities.
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© Meals on Wheels Diablo Region 2019. All rights reserved.
Meals on Wheels Diablo Region
1300 Civic Dr, Walnut Creek, CA, 94596
United States
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