Meals On Wheels Clients Give a Big Thumbs Up!

Recent feedback from Meals On Wheels clients is overwhelmingly positive, according to the National Survey of Older Americans Act Program Participants, conducted by the U.S. Administration on Aging.

With favorable numbers ranging from 85 percent to 93 percent, clients surveyed said that Meals On Wheels helps them eat healthier, helps improve their health, makes them feel more secure, enables them to continue living in their homes, and consider the service to be good or excellent. (Click on the photo for details.)

In order to gather information on the performance of its program, the Administration on Aging surveys the participants in its Older Americans Act programs. These national surveys provide a portrait of who receives these services and how they assess the quality of the services received.

If you or someone you know would benefit from home meal delivery, we're just a phone call away: 330-832-7220, or toll-free at 1-800-466-8010.

Congress Must Reauthorize the Older Americans Act; Here's How You Can Make Your Voice Heard

Did you know that one in three older Americans is economically insecure, living just one bad break away from an economic crisis? Or that one in nine is at-risk for hunger?

Meals On Wheels and other programs supported by the Older Americans Act (OAA) help vulnerable seniors avoid hunger and financial crisis. This groundbreaking legislation, signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965, strengthened the economic and health conditions of senior citizens in the United States.

As Congress debates OAA funding and reauthorization this fall, we must raise our voices in support of this critical legislation. Our CEO Teresa Barry voiced her concern in an opinion piece that ran in The Repository, the daily paper in Canton, Ohio, in June 2010. As Terri wrote:

"The flexibility of the Older Americans Act enables it to assist a segment of the population that does not qualify for Medicare or Medicaid. However, since it is not an entitlement program as those are, and as Social Security is, it is not guaranteed funding by Congress."

That is why Congress must be reminded of the importance of the OAA and the programs it supports.

For more information on the campaign to support the Older Americans Act, visit the One Away website.

MOWSW Receives 'March for Meals' Grant Award

Meals On Wheels of Stark and Wayne Counties has been awarded a $1,000 grant by the Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA) in response to the agency's participation in the 2009 March for Meals/Mayors for Meals campaign.

Member agencies were selected for grant awards based on their participation and initiative in the month-long program. This year we continued our tradition of working with The Timken Company, a global manufacturer of bearings and other steel products based in Canton, to recruit volunteers during the month of March. A total of 71 Timken employees volunteered to help during the campaign, a 50 percent increase over the previous year.

The "Mayors for Meals" portion of the campaign involved agencies recruiting mayors and other public officials from their communities to deliver meals on a designated day. This year it was Wednesday, March 18. Meals On Wheels of Stark and Wayne Counties had 11 mayors and other officials from neighboring communities participate. A pre-delivery breakfast was provided for those participating.

Extensive media coverage was provided this year by six different media outlets in Stark and Wayne Counties.

Monetary awards to local agencies around the country were made possible through MOWAA's partnership with The Harrah's Foundation, the prime national sponsor for the March for Meals/Mayors for Meals campaign.

Regional Magazine Features MOWSW

Recently Meals On Wheels of Stark & Wayne Counties was featured in a regional magazine that focuses on Canton and Stark County.

About magazine profiled our agency in their monthly "Charity Spotlight" section. It's the second time in recent months that we've been highlighted by their editors. Teresa Barry, our CEO, was the subject of a profile in their December 2008 issue.

About features articles, photo essays, event calendars and more, placing their focus entirely on the Stark County region. It is available on newsstands and by subscription. A selected number of articles and features can be found on their web site, http://www.aboutstark.com/.

Click on the images below to read the article, or read it online at: http://www.aboutstark.com/charity-spotlight/meals-wheels.

Check Out Meals On Wheels on Bravo-TV's 'Top Chef Masters'

The Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA) will be highlighted on “Top Chef Masters” on Bravo Television on Wednesday, July 20, at 10 p.m. EST.

Chef Michael Waxman will be competing on MOWAA’s behalf. Waxman is chef and owner of Barbuto in Manhattan’s West Village, and author of “A Great American Cook,” published in 2007 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

“We are grateful that Chef Waxman has designated MOWAA as his charity of choice and excited that we will be a part of his appearance on ‘Top Chef Masters,’” said Teresa Barry, CEO of Meals On Wheels of Stark & Wayne Counties and chairman of the board of MOWAA.

Meals On Wheels of Stark & Wayne Counties is the only meal delivery program in the two-county region that is affiliated with MOWAA.

New Bulletin Keeps Volunteers Connected

To help keep our volunteers better informed and connected to what's going on at Meals On Wheels of Stark and Wayne Counties, we launched a new Volunteer Bulletin. The bulletin is a convenient size (5-1/2" x 8-1/2") and is packed with information about the agency and about policies and procedures that affect our volunteers.

Meals On Wheels of Stark and Wayne Counties is blessed to have more than 300 regular volunteers, and about 400 when all of our part-time and substitute drivers are included. With that kind of volunteer team, it's essential to keep the lines of communication open.

The bulletin is duplicated at the administrative office and distributed via our 21 nutrition sites. Site coordinators insert a copy into each route book on a daily basis for one week, and additional copies are provided to each site for pickup by part-time and substitute drivers when they are on duty.

Bulletins will be produced periodically, but not less than four times a year. Click on the thumbnail image above to read the first issue.

Appreciation, Training Highlight Spring Volunteer Meetings

To stay connected with our volunteers, this Spring Meals On Wheels of Stark and Wayne Counties scheduled a series of eight Volunteer Meetings at several of the agency's 20 locations in the two-county area. The first meeting was on April 21 in Alliance, and the final session was June 9 at our administrative office building in Massillon.

Mary Marshall, volunteer coordinator, conducted the sessions, which averaged about 20 attendees per site -- for a total attendance of almost 160 volunteers.

Mary provided an update of recent news and events at the agency. It's easy for volunteers to overlook the scope of what they as a group accomplish -- particularly those who assist at our outside locations. When they hear about our full-sized, commercial commissary at the administrative office building, plus the number of meals prepared each day and the number of delivery routes that are covered, it helps them better identify with the size and scope of Meals On Wheels of Stark & Wayne Counties.

Mary also covered important policies and procedures that all volunteers must follow. Volunteers had the opportunity to ask questions and clarify what to do when various circumstances arise.

Lunch was provided at all the meetings courtesy of the CiCi's Pizza restaurants in the area. CiCi's has been a great friend of Meals On Wheels of Stark & Wayne Counties, and we appreciate their support. Several door prizes, donated by area companies, were awarded at the conclusion of each meeting.

NE Ohio Marketing Pros Brainstorm for Meals On Wheels of Stark & Wayne Counties

During April and May, Meals On Wheels of Stark & Wayne Counties invited a number of communications and marketing professionals in the area to participate in two strategic brainstorming sessions at our administrative office building in Massillon, Ohio.

Ten marketing pros from the region attended a luncheon meeting on Thursday, April 2. Present were: Mike Boyd, co-owner of Creative Source in Jackson Township; Brian Bradway, owner of Bradway Creative in Alliance; Brian Brinkman, owner of OnTheBrink Creative in Canton; Leslee Dennis, corporate communications assistant at Aultman Health Foundation in Canton; Bob Isenberg, creative director at WRL Advertising in Jackson Township; Aron Kitzmiller, marketing manager at Westfield Belden Village in Jackson Township; Cheryl Molnar, art director at WRL Advertising; Jeff Semple, president of NexGen Sales & Consulting in Canton; Suzie Thomas, director of university relations at Malone University in Canton; and Keeven White, CEO of WhiteSpace Creative in Akron.

CEO Teresa Barry opened the meeting with an overview of the agency and the challenges being faced by meals programs across the country, particularly in the area of attracting and retaining clients. PR Administrator Tom Delamater then led the group through a wide-open discussion of marketing strategies that could be employed by Meals On Wheels, with a focus on keeping costs as low as possible due to current budget constraints.

A comprehensive list of ideas and topics was compiled and distributed by email after the meeting, and participants gave further input based on the list. A follow up breakfast meeting took place on Wednesday, May 27 to review the material and establish some tactics for our staff to use in marketing the agency and its services.

One suggestion was to take advantage of social networking. In addition to our own blog, we have established a presence on Facebook and Twitter, and will begin producing brief videos and posting them on YouTube. There were several other valuable recommendations made that we intend to implement in the weeks and months ahead.

We’re grateful that so many skilled PR and advertising professionals were willing to donate their time to help us as we chart a course for the future -- particularly in these difficult economic times.