Senior Citizen Services Offers Gas Cards to Recruit Meals On Wheels Atlanta Drivers

With gas prices approaching $4 per gallon, Meals On Wheels Atlanta volunteers are not only giving up their time to deliver meals to seniors, but they are also taking a hit in their wallet when they fill up their car with gas.

That’s where Jerry Lowry, Chairman of D.A.T. Broadband, Inc. stepped in. D.A.T. Broadband donated 100 gas cards to be given to new Meals On Wheels Atlanta volunteers during the month of May, which is also nationally recognized as Older Americans Month. Each card will roughly cover the gas that it takes to deliver a Meals On Wheels Atlanta route. Eligible recipients will be any driver who has not delivered for Meals On Wheels Atlanta before.

“D.A.T. Broadband should be recognized for this creative and practical solution to rising gas prices,” stated Jeffrey Smythe, Executive Director of Senior Citizen Services. “With more seniors in need, this gives volunteers an extra boost to deliver meals.”

Meals On Wheels Atlanta, one of Senior Citizen Services of Metropolitan Atlanta’s programs designed to enable seniors to support senior independence through meals, shelter, education and community was created to meet the nutrition and human contact needs of homebound seniors in the metropolitan area in 1970. Last year, nearly 95,000 meals were delivered to hundreds of homebound seniors. Recipients receive a visit with their meals by a volunteer or staff person, assuring that they receive more than just nutrition. To serve each senior better, Meals On Wheels Atlanta has entered into formal collaborations with multiple service providers across the metro area, thereby minimizing duplication and maximizing the benefit of each charitable donation.

Interested volunteers may contact Senior Citizen Services at 404-351-6194 or volunteercoordinator@scsatl.org to schedule a delivery route. Turn-by-turn directions are provided and routes can be completed in less than two hours.

Meals On Wheels Atlanta is inviting additional $10 gas cards donations to promote volunteerism. Call 404-351-3889 if you would like to donate gas cards.

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About Senior Citizen Services: Senior Citizen Services of Metropolitan Atlanta, Inc. (SCS), a nonprofit, community-based organization, has been providing services since 1965 and is designed to support senior independence through meals, shelter, education and community. Their programs include Meals On Wheels Atlanta, Home Repair Services, Vivian T. Minor Adult Day Care for Alzheimer’s/Dementia, and Fulton County Neighborhood Senior Centers. For more information on programs, please visit www.scsatl.org.

It Takes a Village

It takes a village. Think globally, act locally. Two catchphrases that we hear all the time, especially in an election year when the pundits and politicos try to meld theory with practice. We were inspired recently by a donor who took immediate and unselfish action, not out of any sense of recognition, but simply because helping was the right thing to do.

An SCS staff member literally ran out of gas during a meal delivery, and the AJC carried the story along with the overarching theme of how the gas and economic crises can sometimes hurt service delivery. Reading this newspaper story, an 80 year old widow who is living comfortably in an assisted living home called me to inquire as to how she could make a donation to help stem the tide of high gas prices. She asked not for recognition, in fact, preferring to remain anonymous in print form or otherwise. Instead, taking an almost biblical tone, she shared with me that it pained her that people her age were suffering, given her blessed circumstances in life.

The story of this new donor’s immediate gift was not only appreciated, but word of it energized the entire SCS staff. Her gift was thus multiplied, and will have benefit for many others long after the donation is spent. Sometimes, it takes just one person to motivate a village.

By
Brad Catherman
Vice President of Gift Planning
Senior Citizen Services