Clearlake >> You can count the effort Highlands Senior Service Center (HSSC) puts into their Meals on Wheels program.
The nonprofit organization spends roughly $15,000 monthly to feed up to 72 seniors in Clearlake, Clearlake Park and Lower Lake through Meals on Wheels. Volunteer drivers visit them five times a week and provide not just meals, but a friendly face and interaction to the homebound seniors.
That means funding is a constant battle. Because the center was used as an evacuation center during last year’s devastating fires, its biggest fundraiser of the year had to be cancelled, causing an incalculable monetary loss. Federal and state funding to the facility continues to shrink more and more every year, failing to keep up with the increasing numbers of seniors who need their services and the increasing costs associated with providing these services.
Community donations are vital to bridge the gap in funding, and to allow the center to continue to provide their services to the seniors in the community.
On Sunday Highlands Senior Service Center (HSSC) is asking the community to support their efforts to end senior hunger by participating in their March for Meals event on Sunday.
Activities will begin at 9 a.m. at HSSC, located at 3245 Bowers Ave. There will be a breakfast fundraiser featuring a breakfast burrito or continental-style breakfast for a $5 donation. An open house will follow, featuring informational booths by organizations that provide services to seniors and the community, and other business vendors who will be selling their wares. Registration for the March for Meals begins at 10 a.m. and the march will commence at 11 a.m.
Community members are invited to march along with senior center staff, clients and volunteers as they make their way from the senior center to the Burns Valley Mall and back. They have collected pledges from friends and family who are sponsoring them with monetary donations to help fund HSSC so they can continue the many programs available to seniors in Lake County.
As an added bonus, for the second year in a row, all donations raised during the months of March and April are eligible for a dollar-for-dollar match being provided by Charlotte Griswold of Clearlake.
March for Meals is an annual, national campaign to raise awareness of senior hunger and to encourage action on a local level.
Senior Nutrition Programs across the United States promote the event in their local communities through public events, partnerships with local businesses, volunteer recruitment and fundraising initiatives. The Middletown Senior Center will be holding its own event on March 26 with an indoor craft fair from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The campaign takes place in the month of March because it was during this month that the law was enacted that included Senior Nutrition Programs in the Older Americans Act.
The HSSC is a registered nonprofit organization, which means that all of the funds needed to provide services to the seniors in the community comes from grants and donations, and all donations are tax deductible. It provides congregate dining, Meals on Wheels for qualified clients, and information and assistance on all manner of services and concerns that affect people aged 60 years and older.
The March for Meals is one of their biggest fundraisers each year.
The senior center serves about 45 meals daily for a suggested donation of $4, though they won’t turn anyone away who can’t afford the price — and it happens often. Executive director Joyce Overton said they averaged $1.30 per meal in donations Thursday.
Community donations are vital to bridge the gap in funding, and to allow HSSC to continue to provide their services to the seniors in the community.
Call HSSC at 994-3051 for more information on the March for Meals, or for information on any of the other services and programs that HSSC provides.
Stop by the office as well at 3245 Bowers Ave. in Clearlake Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
