Council on Aging Accepts United Way Foundation Challenge to Benefit Martin County Seniors and Meals on Wheels

Stuart, FL - Competition to raise funds for the Pep Rally Gala this year has just notched up to “High Stakes!”

 

The United Way Foundation of Martin County has issued its first ever Challenge Grant to help the Council on Aging Martin County purchase a new vehicle for delivering Meals on Wheels.

 

The Pep Rally Gala teams have been raising money toward the purchase of the new vehicles, competing among themselves to raise the most funds, earn bragging rights, and make a substantial contribution to the quality of life in the community.

 

The Challenge Grant will match what is raised at the February 28 Pep Rally Gala up to $45,000.

 

“To say we are honored is an understatement,” said Council on Aging CEO Karen Ripper. “To be the first organization to receive a challenge grant from the United Way Foundation is a true vote of confidence in our organization and in the Meals on Wheels program, specifically.”

 

Council on Aging Martin County prepares more than 125,000 meals in its commercial kitchen at the Kane Center, delivering them to homes throughout Martin County and to four Senior Dining Centers. One of the Senior Dining  delivery trucks is 17 years old, and the other vehicles are catching up to it in years and miles driven. Senior Dining Sites are located in Hobe Sound, Stuart, Jensen Beach and Indiantown.

 

Because the trucks have to be able to keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot during the delivery cycle every day, they are expensive to replace. The teams raising money for the Pep Rally Gala fundraiser have their hearts set on raising funds to help with the purchase of new vehicles, and the United Way Foundation Challenge Grant has renewed their determination.

 

“Our Foundation exists to strengthen the long-term sustainability of United Way and the partners who serve our most vulnerable neighbors,” said Phil Wintercorn, chair of the United Way of Martin County Foundation Board. “This challenge grant for the Council on Aging’s Meals on Wheels truck is exactly the kind of capital project we’re here to support. A new temperature-controlled vehicle means more than deliveries — it means healthier meals, greater reliability, and peace of mind for the seniors who count on this service every day.”

 

“We are so grateful for this level of support, Ripper said, “and hope to inspire our community not only to help us raise the funds needed to meet this challenge, but also to take advantage of the opportunity to get to know who we are and the impact we have on Martin County’s seniors!”

 

Details on the Pep Rally Gala Team standings and information about the event are on the Council on Aging Martin County website, www.coamartin.org. Tickets are still available for the February 28 celebration, and there is still time to support a favorite team.

 

For tickets and sponsorship information, contact Michele Leigh Jacobs at 772-223-7803, mjacobs@coamartin.org, or the Council on Aging Martin County website www.coamartin.org. 

 

About the Council on Aging Martin County

For seniors, their families, and caregivers, the Council on Aging Martin County is their trusted and comprehensive hub for senior resources. We work with the community to reduce anxiety, depression, loneliness, and hunger. Together, we help seniors live a safer, healthier, and happier life.

 

From our Adult Day Club, Day Primary Care Center, case management, and memory enhancement programming, to our nutrition and exercise classes, games to improve memory, concerts and social events, the Council on Aging’s Kane Center on Salerno Road is a beehive of activities. Services also take to the road – like Meals on Wheels, providing a hot meal and a warm smile to more than 580 homebound and needy Martin County senior residents in their home each day, or Senior Dining Centers at locations throughout the county in Stuart, Jensen Beach, Indiantown and Hobe Sound. The Elder Care Mobile Outreach Bus brings knowledgeable and compassionate staff directly to seniors in local neighborhoods.

 

For 51 years, the Council on Aging Martin County has been working tirelessly to inspire a community that embraces, uplifts and encourages seniors to maintain lives of quality and purpose. Stay healthy. Be active. Eat well. Get help when you need it from the Council on Aging Martin County. Please visit us in person, online at coamartin.org, or on social media, and learn more about the many services of the Council on Aging Martin County. Our staff and volunteers are ready and eager to help.