Senior Services Plus receives grant from Boeing Employees Community Fund
From Illinois Business Journal news services
ALTON – Senior Services Plus’s Meals on Wheels program has been awarded a grant of $10,000 through the Boeing Employees Community Fund.
The funds will assist in covering direct costs for the Meals on Wheels program, which impacts the health and welfare of more than 1,100 seniors in Madison and St. Clair counties in Illinois.
“The past five years have been difficult for our agency and our Meals on Wheels program due to the recession and high gas and food prices,” said Jonathan Becker, executive director of Senior Services Plus. “During the past few years the suggested donations for the program have continued to drop. The program receives an average of 62 cents although it asks for $4.”
The Senior Services Plus Meals on Wheels program provides a daily nutritious meal for seniors in 22 townships, many of whom are at risk for malnutrition due to limited income or poor health. Seniors who participate in the program are asked for a suggested donation, although no senior is refused a meal based of their ability to make a donation.
“Over 60 percent of the seniors who are receiving these meals are living alone or have limited family support,” he added. “Their vulnerability increases the need for maintaining contact through our drivers and our volunteers. The program allows for those individuals to become less isolated and creates a better quality of life.”
Senior Services Plus is located at 2603 N. Rodgers Ave. in Alton. For more information or to donate to Meals on Wheels or Senior Services Plus Program, visit www.seniorservicesplus.org or contact (618) 465-3298 ext. 100.
