The “Share the Love …. Stuff the Cooler” program will raise community awareness and participation to support local seniors in need.
Berks Encore is proud to announce its partnership with Steve Moyer Subaru this holiday season to help fight senior isolation and hunger. This local effort is part of Meals On Wheels America’s participation in Subaru of America, Inc.’s national year-end “Share the Love” event, designed as a way for Subaru retailers to give back to their local communities.
For every new Subaru vehicle sold or leased from Nov. 19 through January 2, 2016 – Subaru will donate $250 to the purchaser’s choice of participating charity, one of which being Meals on Wheels. By the end of this year, Subaru and its retailers will have donated more than $65 million to charity through the Share the Love Event.
“We are so pleased to partner with Steve Moyer Subaru on this initiative,” says LuAnn Oatman, Berks Encore CEO/President. “Subaru and Meals On Wheels America’s partnership has helped so many seniors nationwide already and has brought much-needed attention to the issues of senior hunger and isolation. We thank the community for their support in helping local seniors this holiday season.”
Vehicles from Steve Moyer Subaru will be utilized this month for Meals on Wheels routes across the county, bringing awareness to the local campaign.
To help “Share the Love” with local seniors in need this holiday season, Berks Encore will host a variety of events geared at ensuring local homebound seniors have a happy, healthy holiday season-and beyond. The agency’s signature “Share the Love/Stuff the Cooler” event collects nonperishable food and toiletry items until December 31. This food donation collection benefits the agency’s Meals on Wheels clients and helps raise awareness of senior hunger in Berks County. In addition to collecting items at each of our centers and at the Steve Moyer Subaru dealership in Leesport, non-perishable items and donations can also be dropped off at partners Assured Assistance and Paramount Living Aids, Shillington; Heritage at Green Hills and Green Hills Manor, Reading; and Suburban Testing Labs, Reading. In addition, Precision Medical, Denver, completed an in-house food collection. The donated items will be distributed via individual centers in the weeks following the end of the campaign.
Berks Encore also encourages the community to become an Angel to Meals on Wheels recipients. “Many seniors who are homebound don’t receive many cards or gifts during the holidays-or they don’t receive any at all. It’s important for those same seniors to know just how much the community cares about them,” says Kaitlin Becker, Meals on Wheels Program Coordinator, “And small gifts can mean so much.” Berks Encore’s Angel Tree provides our Meals on Wheels consumers with gifts. The agency is asking for individuals and businesses to donate gifts for clients throughout the county. Items like gift cards, snacks and snack baskets//bags, puzzle books, warm weather items (such as blankets, scarves, gloves, hats), as well as crafts and cards. The agency also encourages school and church groups as well as Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops to create handmade cards and greetings for distribution to the county’s seniors. Donations will be accepted until December 18; please contact Kaitlin Becker for more information at 610-374-3195, x220.
Berks Encore has also partnered with Fleetwood Bank, Fleetwood to collect funds for the Meals On Wheels program at all branch locations. Customers can purchase paper ornaments for $1 with all proceeds benefiting Berks Encore’s fight against senior hunger and isolation in Berks County.
Local Meals on Wheels America Member programs, like Berks Encore, that partner with Subaru retailers to raise awareness for the Share the Love Event are eligible to earn grants of up to $20,000. This can provide an extra layer of support to help deliver nutritious meals and other important services to seniors in Berks County.
“Subaru and Meals on Wheels have worked together since 2008, helping deliver more than 1.2 million meals, friendly visits and safety checks to America’s seniors,” said Ellie Hollander, President and CEO, Meals on Wheels America. “We are truly honored to be one of Subaru’s long-standing national charities for the eighth consecutive year. The substantial support generated through the Share the Love Event ensures that our seniors are not forgotten.”
