WesleyLife is joining not-for-profit organizations throughout the world for Giving Tuesday Now!, an event designed to promote generosity, citizen engagement, and action from business and philanthropy; and to draw attention to and support for communities and programs in need.
WesleyLife, Iowa’s most comprehensive not-for-profit provider of services to older adults, hopes to raise $250,000 in May to help support WesleyLife Meals on Wheels, a meal-delivery and well-being program that provides a hot, healthy meal daily to about 1,300 older adults in central Iowa.
The amount would make up for a budgetary shortfall caused by 40 percent growth in the program in the last two months, as well as the necessary cancellations of the program’s two major fundraising events due to COVID-19.
In addition to delivering meals to any older adult in need as well as to military veterans of all ages, WesleyLife Meals on Wheels also offers peace of mind to clients and family members, as trained drivers also perform well-being checks to make sure clients are safe and not experiencing any new health issues.
The program also hopes to attract new volunteers to supplement the 500 individuals who have donated their time during the crisis, but may soon be unavailable as they begin to return to work.
Due to shelter-in-place recommendations and temporary closures of congregate meal sites during the COVID-19 pandemic, WesleyLife Meals on Wheels has seen an increase of more than 40 percent in the past several weeks in the number of clients it serves per weekday, Chad Vogel, Vice President of Philanthropy for WesleyLife, said.
And because the uptick in service also has enhanced awareness for Meals on Wheels throughout central Iowa, the client base is likely to remain larger even after the economy is reopened, Vogel added.
“As many of us are looking forward to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ tentative reopening date of May 15, the people we serve are ones who typically don’t have as many options to leave their homes — and that will be doubly true now because many will continued to be at increased risk for contracting the virus,” Vogel said.
“It’s more important than ever that we continue to serve our long-term clients as well as the many clients we have been privileged to begin serving since March. If you are looking for a way to make a difference, donating to Meals on Wheels is a way to ensure that your dollars will go directly to feed someone who otherwise may go without.”
Specifically, donations will be used to fund — in addition to increased numbers of daily meals — shelf-stable meals, increased transportation costs, and other program-supporting items that could not have been budgeted for prior to the pandemic.
Donate easily at www.wesleylife.org/giving/donate-now.aspx, or by calling (515) 271-6719.
