The Northern New York Community Foundation recently awarded a $20,000 grant to Meals on Wheels of Greater Watertown to help ensure the program can continue to reach long-term sustainability.
The Community Foundation’s Board of Directors approved a $10,000 outright grant to support Meals on Wheels of Greater Watertown next year. The Foundation also agreed to provide a $10,000 matching challenge grant to encourage community support for its “Adopt a Senior” campaign. A portion of this great was made possible through the Charles and Fern Brown Fund, and the Emma Phoebe Hurd Fund, at the Community Foundation.
Meals on Wheels has operated for 50 years providing daily, nutritious meals to elderly, disabled and individuals recovering from illness residing in and around the Watertown area. A $25,000 grant from the Community Foundation in 2015 assisted with merging the Meals on Wheels program under the Watertown Urban Mission’s operations. The Foundation grant was designed to help with the program’s long-term viability.
“The Meals on Wheels program provides such a vital service to our community, not only by offering healthy meals, but also providing an important personal link through the volunteers who deliver meals to homes. Having been already provided resources to help them reach a greater level of sustainability, we are committed to help support them as they strive to strategize for the best ways to continue their important work into the future,” said Rande Richardson, Community Foundation director.
The Meals on Wheels program is projected to serve more than 34,000 meals next year. Healthy meals are provided to consumers with the assistance of various community partners.
“The Meals on Wheels program is critical for many people, both for the nutritious meals it provides as well as for the regular social contact provided by the volunteer drivers who deliver those meals,” said Richard Halpin, Interim Executive Director, Watertown Urban Mission. “With this most recent assistance from the Northern New York Community Foundation, the Urban Mission’s Meals on Wheels program will be able to shore up immediate financial shortfalls, and, most importantly, develop a program to ensure stable funding going forward. We are extremely grateful for this timely and much-needed support.”
The Northern New York Community Foundation makes grants to support the work of non-profit organizations and provides scholarships to individuals in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties. The Foundation has been built and added to from gifts (both while living and through their legacy plans) by individuals and organizations committed to meeting the changing needs of Northern New York, as well as supporting specific charitable interests and passions. The Community Foundation is located at the Northern New York Philanthropy Center in Watertown.