GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) – An anonymous donor of the Western Colorado Community Foundation (WCCF) recently gave Meals on Wheels $50,000 to help with their budget shortfalls this year.
The Western Colorado Community Foundation, a nonprofit and public charity, has been a vocal and longtime supporter of all hunger relief efforts in 7 counties that include Delta, Eagle, Garfield, Mesa, Montrose, Ouray, and Rio Blanco Counties. Specifically in the Mesa County region the WCCF played key roles in the Mesa County’s Blueprint to End Hunger, have hosted the Mesa County Hunger Alliance; and developed the summer mobile meal programs, the Lunch Lizard in Mesa County and the Meal Monkey in Garfield County. These are just some of the efforts put forward by the WCCF.
In 2023 the WCCF granted Meals on Wheels $100,000 and this year another donor continues that contribution. Amanda de Bock, the Director for the Mesa County Branch of Meals on Wheels, speaks about what the donation means to the program:
“Having this amount of money coming in one fell swoop- I mean, it really makes a huge difference to our budget shortfall. As you guys know, we were $350,000 short of where we really needed to be to serve the amount of seniors that we normally do. So this $50,000 is a massive help to the program.”
The WCCF houses 300 plus funds that have accumulated over the past 26 years that they have been serving the community. Jody Valente, Program Associate at WCCF, talks about why the non-profit want to help out:
“I mean, I think our Community Foundation and our donors really care about seeing your needs, and hearing about the impact of the loss of state and federal funding has been really devastating. You know, we know that lots of seniors are incredibly isolated, really at high risk. And so our donors want to do as much as they can to help. And we love that Amanda is now in this amazing commercial kitchen where they can produce more meals, you know, 1000 meals a day, but we just need to get the funding back up there for them to continue doing that.”
Valente continues, talking about the impact that these donations have on the recipients of Meals on Wheels:
“It’s just really about making sure that the seniors get the meals that they need. I think with the work that Meals on Wheels is doing it’s far more than just a meal. When you talk to Amanda about it, and the volunteers and staff they are really checking in on folks making sure they’re getting their needs met, their medicine, making sure that they’re safe and you know, haven’t fallen or that another crisis has happened.”
Meals on Wheels is excited to plan ahead for the next fiscal year. Volunteers and donations are always open to the public and if you are interested you can find more information here.
De Bock touches on an incident that happened with one of their volunteers and clients, further emphasizing the programs importance:
“Right before Christmas, we had a senior who had fallen in their carports and had been there for almost seven hours before a volunteer had found them. We had to call emergency services. By the time they got to the hospital, their internal temperature was down to 80 degrees. So Meals on Wheels really is more than just a meal. It’s a really vital service to seniors who otherwise have no one. “
If you are interested in volunteering or wanting to learn more about the program ride-alongs are available upon request.
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