Your Team Can Team Up to Help Meals On Wheels of Stark & Wayne Counties at Our Inaugural Fun Fest!

Ropes courses? Role playing? Group hugs?

Those are all forms of team building that you could use to improve employee morale and build cooperation and teamwork at your company.

Or, you could enter a team of five in the Corporate Challenge events at The Meals On Wheels Fun Fest Challenge, Saturday, June 25, beginning at 8:30 a.m. at Sluggers & Putters Fun Park in Canal Fulton!

For an entry fee of $250, you can enter your company's team in a good-spirited, fun round of competitive events, including miniature golf, go cart races, the rock climbing wall, bumper boat basketball, and a closest-to-the-pin contest on the golf driving range.

• Benefit #1 to you: You can reward some of your staff and provide them with a fun activity that will strengthen their bond inside and outside the office.

• Benefit #2 to you: The satisfaction of helping Meals On Wheels of Stark & Wayne Counties with our mission of providing meals to our homebound neighbors who are nutritionally at-risk -- and the pride your employees can take in knowing that you are making a difference in the community.

The Meals On Wheels Fun Fest Challenge will be an all-day event on June 25 that is designed to raise funds for, and awareness about, the agency and the very real -- and urgent -- needs of our homebound neighbors. In addition to the corporate events in the morning, we will open the park to the public from 12 noon to 6 p.m. that day at a discounted admission price of just $10 for unlimited access to the park's activities! It's the bargain of the year, and all proceeds from the day will benefit Meals On Wheels.

Why not think out of the box and do something different to reward employees and build morale? Sponsor a team at The Meals On Wheels Fun Fest and help make a difference for our homebound neighbors in Stark & Wayne Counties!

For more information contact Tom Delamater at 330-832-7220 or by email at delamater@mow-starkwayne.org.

Key Bank Volunteers Make a Difference for Meals On Wheels of Stark & Wayne Counties

As part of Key Bank's "Neighbors Make The Difference" day, four representatives of Key in our region volunteered this morning at our commissary in Massillon.

Greg Endres and Janet Deierling (top photo) and Lesa Nicholson-Jackson and Marsha Cain-Reed (bottom photo) worked in our commissary from 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon and helped prepare food items that will be used in meal deliveries to our clients.

According to a statement about Neighbors Make The Difference day on the Key Bank website, "Senior management, managers and staff come together in groups, support Key's volunteer spirit and go to work as community servants. By volunteering, employees become aware that they are part of a company that believes strongly in the importance of community and see first-hand the positive impact of Key's activities in the places where we live, work and conduct business."

"We appreciate Key's commitment to community and the help they have provided to our agency," said Teresa Barry, CEO of Meals On Wheels of Stark & Wayne Counties. "It means a lot to know that businesses like Key Bank are willing to step in and help us fulfill our mission of providing nutritious meals for homebound individuals in the two-county area."

Revenue from Church of the Lakes Dance Will Benefit Meals On Wheels

June 25 is shaping up to be quite a day for Meals On Wheels of Stark & Wayne Counties. In addition to our Fun Fest at Sluggers & Putters during the day, we will also benefit from a dance later that evening.

The Church of the Lakes Dance Band will play a benefit dance that night beginning at 7:30 p.m. Donation is $10 per person, and proceeds will be divided between Meals On Wheels of Stark & Wayne Counties and the Akron-Canton Regional Food Bank.

The band includes 17 instrumental musicians and one vocalist. They play mostly "Swing Era" music.

The dance will be held at Church of the Lakes, located at 5944 Fulton Dr. NW (corner of Fulton & Brunnerdale) in Canton. Snacks, coffee and punch will be provided. The event is scheduled until 10 p.m.

If Swing Era music and dancing is your cup of tea, come out to Church of the Lakes on Saturday, June 25, at 7:30 p.m, and enjoy a great time for a great cause! For more information, call Denny at 330-499-6626.

Diebold Foundation Offers a Tip of the Cap to Our Volunteers!

The Diebold Foundation has stepped up to the plate again, this time to help us recognize the dedication of our volunteers. The foundation provided funding for our Volunteer Appreciation Day at the Meals On Wheels Fun Fest Challenge, Saturday, June 25, at Sluggers & Putters theme park in Canal Fulton.

From 12 noon to 6 p.m. that day, Meals On Wheels volunteers will be admitted free to the park to enjoy all activities, including miniature golf, go carts, bumper cars and more. It's our way of saying thanks for their hard work throughout the year.

"In past years we had an appreciation picnic on the lawn of our building in Massillon, but the big tent we used every year was damaged by wind, so we've been looking for another way to thank our volunteers," said Teresa Barry, CEO. "With the funding from the Diebold Foundation, we can now conduct our volunteer appreciation event during the Fun Fest in June."

A complimentary lunch will be available between 12 noon and 2 p.m. for those volunteers who RSVP by June 17.

The Meals On Wheels Fun Fest Challenge will feature a corporate challenge competition in the morning. Teams will participate in good-natured competition in five different activities before enjoying a picnic lunch afterward. The entire park will be opened to the public from 12 noon to 6 p.m., and admission for the afternoon will be just $10 for unlimited access to the park.

For complete information, see our full article about the subject: Join Us As Avalon Foodservice Presents 'The Meals On Wheels Fun Fest Challenge.'

Banfield Grant to Provide Additional Storage Space

Meals On Wheels of Stark & Wayne Counties has been awarded a grant by the Banfield Charitable Trust of Portland, Ore., to provide a storage shed that will house pet food collected each year in our annual pet food drive.

Over the years Banfield has been a generous partner with our agency, helping to build our pet food collection program into the largest among Meals On Wheels agencies in the country.

"We're grateful for Banfield's generosity," said Teresa Barry, CEO of Meals On Wheels of Stark & Wayne Counties. "They have facilitated the growth of our pet food program and made a tremendous difference in the lives of our clients who have pets."

Based on a recommendation from Banfield, Royal Canin donated eight pallets of pet food to our agency in 2009, and followed that with a whopping 36 pallets of food in 2010. (See the WKYC-TV report from January 2011, "Meals on Wheels feeding furry friends too.")

The bulk of the food collected is stored at a warehouse facility in Wooster owned by board member Bill DeRodes. However, we typically keep several hundred pounds of food on hand just inside our shipping dock in Massillon. A new shed will allow for such storage while freeing up space for equipment and regular shipments that arrive for our commissary.

Once the grant check is received, we plan to have the new shed in use by fall.

Make Plans Now for the Meals On Wheels Fun Fest Challenge, June 25

If you haven't already, make plans to join us for an event that truly promises to be one of the highlights of the summer -- as Avalon Foodservice, Inc. presents "The Meals On Wheels Fun Fest Challenge," Saturday, June 25, at Sluggers & Putters Wild World of Fun in Canal Fulton.

Corporate teams will participate in spirited, good-natured competition in the morning, after which the park will be open to the public from 12 noon to 6 p.m. For just $10, you can enjoy all of the park, all you want, all afternoon.

For companies interested in sponsorships or entering a team, click on our previous blog article, Join Us As Avalon Foodservice Presents 'The Meals On Wheels Fun Fest Challenge,' for complete details.

Recent sponsorship commitments include Aultman Health Foundation, Canal Fulton Provision, Community One Credit Union, Communication Exhibits, Inc., and Affinity Medical Center. We appreciate their enthusiasm and support.

We hope to see you at the Meals On Wheels Fun Fest Challenge on June 25!

Oops! Better Late Than Never -- Our May Menu!

We're well into our May menu -- click on the image to see a larger version.

Meals On Wheels Receives Grant from Heinz Frozen Food

Meals On Wheels of Stark & Wayne Counties has received a grant for commissary equipment from Heinz Frozen Food in Massillon.

Jeannie Jones, HR Trainer/Supervisor Operations at Heinz, and members of the grant committee visited the agency on May 4 to present the award and tour our facilities.

CEO Teresa Barry greeted the group when they arrived and took them through the commissary, where they saw first-hand the scope of the work that takes place there every day.

Jeannie then presented Terri with two checks totalling $1400, from Heinz North America and the H.J. Heinz Company Foundation, to cover the cost of purchasing several equipment items that will streamline operations for the commissary staff.

"We appreciate the support of Heinz for our mission and our operations," said Terri. "It means a lot to have local companies show interest in what we do, particularly a partner like Heinz who is also in the food business."

Heinz Frozen Food in Massillon is a division of the H.J. Heinz Company.

Click on the photo for a larger image. Pictured are (L to R): Stan Houtz, Heinz; Teresa Barry, Meals On Wheels; and Jeannie Jones, Dee Smith and Dana Derrow, Heinz.