Skip To The Main Content

WE’RE JUST DAYS AWAY FROM THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!

Our 2015 Meals on Wheels Annual Conference and Expo kicks off this Monday, August 31 in Orlando and we’re anxiously awaiting the sparks that are sure to fly when we’re all in the same room together. Nearly 500 leaders, staff and board members from your fellow Member programs are gearing up to spark new thinking, new energy and renewed commitment into one of the greatest social movements this country has ever seen. 

hotel

FOR THOSE WHO ARE ATTENDING:

Check your Conference Essentials three-part email series (already sent to your inbox) that will get you up to speed on everything you need to prepare and make the most of your trip. If you haven’t already, you can also download the 2015 Conference App to your smart phone or tablet to schedule your sessions and workshops, communicate with fellow attendees, learn more about each presenter, and more!

FOR THOSE WHO AREN’T:

Keep up with us on social media! The hashtag #SparkingtheMovement will allow you to see and share posts from Meals on Wheels America, your fellow Members, presenters, exhibitors and sponsors.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and now on Instagram @mealsonwheelsamerica!

Keep an eye out for September’s Wheels in Motion eNewsletter for a full recap!

AD COUNCIL UPDATE: WE’RE OFF AND RUNNING!

Meals on Wheels America, our two Ad Council Advisory Committees, the Ad Council itself and our advertising agency, Anomaly, are all moving full speed ahead on the research and planning phase of our campaign development. We’ll keep you posted on our progress through regular Wheels in Motion newsletter articles. Be on the lookout for steps you can take to prepare your local communities for the campaign through our Ad Council Bulletin emails as well!
 

RESEARCH - NEARING ITS CONCLUSION

The first phase of any successful campaign is getting to know your audience. With that in mind, Anomaly took a deep dive, holding one-on-one interviews and focus group conversations with volunteers, volunteer prospects, volunteer coordinators and senior clients, in addition to some “man on the street” interviews. We thank those of you who participated in the volunteer survey that gathered input from nearly 6,000 volunteers across the country! Those programs should have already received an email with the study’s results. If you engaged your volunteers in this research and have not received the results, please send an email to adcouncil@mealsonwheelsamerica.org.

Additionally, we just completed a set of one-on-one phone interviews with outstanding volunteers from around the country, along with mini focus groups of volunteers in Baltimore, MD and Columbus, OH, and full focus groups with volunteer prospects in these same cities. We will keep you posted on the lessons learned and how they will guide and impact the campaign going forward.

MAKE SURE YOUR PROGRAM CAN BE FOUND ONCE THE CAMPAIGN BEGINS

Creating Ad Council campaign success for your program will rely heavily on our ability to connect inspired individuals in your service area with your program – and that is where you come in. We sent an email to all Voting (Principal) Members of the Association requesting an update to the contact information we have on file in our website database for your program. Please check your program’s listing through the “Find Meals” search bar at www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org. If it is not up to date, please contact membership@mealsonwheelsamerica.org.

MEMBER ADVISORY COUNCIL KICKS-OFF THEIR ENGAGEMENT

​Again, we express our appreciation to all of the Members who signed up to serve on the two Ad Council Advisory Committees. Last month, both Committees convened virtually for an introduction and overview of the road ahead, and one committee participated in a group discussion to provide input on Meals on Wheels volunteerism, specialized volunteer programs and to lend their insight on what motivates their volunteers and volunteer prospects.
 
Please direct any questions you have about the campaign and how you can best leverage it – and the new Meals on Wheels brand – to adcouncil@mealsonwheelsamerica.org.

PS - Coming to Conference? Check out the Marketing and Communications team's booth (Booth 114) at the Meals on Wheels Expo on Wednesday, September 2 starting at 3:15 p.m.

 

LEGISLATIVE FORECAST: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE STATUS OF 2016 FUNDING FOR MEALS ON WHEELS PROGRAMS

Congress will be back up and running next month with a full legislative plate to tackle. Among its long list of priorities will be the passage of legislation to fund federal programs before a new fiscal year begins on October 1. This is an especially critical time for us to come together to urge Congress to make funding, reauthorizing and protecting the Older Americans Act (OAA) a legislative priority.
 
Dear Congress - Facebook 2

HOW YOU AND YOUR SUPPORTERS CAN TAKE EASY ACTION

We’ve introduced three new features on our website that make it easy for you and your supporters to take action for Meals on Wheels and the seniors you serve. You can:

  • EMAIL CONGRESS using our new platform that will save a step in locating your elected officials. It will also provide a pre-populated email ready for a quick personalized message to be added before you hit “submit."
  • CALL CONGRESS by completing a short form that quickly tracks down your U.S. Senators and Representative. You’ll receive their phone numbers and a helpful phone script to guide conversation about Meals on Wheels programs and the seniors they serve.
  • FIND YOUR OFFICIALS through a quick search that will identify who to reach out to when advocating for Meals on Wheels, including elected officials from both the federal and state levels.
 
Get started using these tools and encourage your networks to do the same! Don’t forget to also check out our Advocacy section in Member Central for even more tools and resources to strengthen the case you make to Congress.
 

WHAT WE’RE MONITORING IN THE MEANTIME

The Fiscal Year 2016 appropriations process unfortunately stalled leading up to the August recess. Both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees passed their FY 2016 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Bills, which is the legislation that determines funding for OAA programs each year. The House’s version proposes a $6 million increase for OAA Nutrition Programs ($2.5 million for congregate meals and $3.5 million for home-delivered meals), while the Senate’s version includes flat funding.

If legislation is not passed to fund federal programs before October 1, Speaker of the House John Boehner has indicated that there will likely be a short-term continuing resolution to ensure funding for a few months until regular appropriations bills can be enacted.

KEEP THE MOMENTUM GOING

We've seen a ton of engagement from Member programs during the Summer Recess Rush – check out three stand-out examples:

 
Senator Al Franken (D-MN) participated in a ride-along with several local volunteers from Family Service Rochester. His participation was covered by local news sources and he was quoted saying that "Meals on Wheels programs save money by keeping seniors in their homes."

 
Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA) delivered meals with Peninsula Agency on Aging and hosted a roundtable on aging for service providers and advocates. He shared photos of his experience and tweeted about the importance of Meals on Wheels programs and OAA programs from his @repbobbyscott Twitter account. The event was picked up by the local ABC affiliate and newspaper.

 
Meta Bowers, Executive Director of Pickens County Meals on Wheels, asked Rep. Jeff Duncan to deliver a one-minute floor speech when Congress returns in September and plans to use the template that was included in our SRR toolkit as its script.

Continue to keep up the hard work! We’ll be sure to keep you posted as we receive further updates. In the meantime, let us know what you've been doing at the local level and we'll be sure to highlight your work at the national level. If you have any questions, please reach out to the Advocacy team:

Erika Kelly, Chief Advocacy and Government Affairs Officer
erika@mealsonwheelsamerica.org or 571-339-1604

Crystal Espie, Public Policy Manager
crystal@mealsonwheelsamerica.org or 571-339-1613

And, for frequent advocacy updates and legislative news, be sure to follow Erika on Twitter @NoSeniorHungry.

P.S. - Coming to Conference? Check out the Advocacy team's booth (Booth 328) at the Meals on Wheels Expo on Wednesday, September 2 starting at 3:15 p.m.

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

TOP TEN CITIES ENABLING SENIOR INDEPENDENCE THROUGH TECHNOLOGY


Seniors are living more independently in their own homes and reducing the need for facility-based assisted living with help from technology services, according to Redfin.
​

“An elderly woman can take an Uber to her friend’s home, find someone to walk her dog through Rover.com, schedule her lawn to be mowed or her house to be cleaned through Porch, get groceries delivered through Instacart and schedule a professional caregiver to assist with bathing, meal preparation and other daily living activities through CareLinx,” the Redfin article states.

 
Redfin considers that the companies mentioned above offer some of the best technology services for supporting seniors to continue living in their own homes. The publication identified all cities that provide these services and ranked them based on the amount of money seniors can save using these services while supporting a mortgage vs. paying for an assisted living facility.

Learn more about why these cities are especially great for seniors aging in place here.

The top 10 cities ranked are:

 1. Washington, DC  6. Boston, MA
 2. Philadelphia, PA  7. Miami, FL
 3. Chicago, IL  8. Denver, CO
 4. Austin, TX  9. Atlanta, GA
 5. Houston, TX  10. Portland, OR

DELIVERING EVERYTHING BUT THE MEAL –
FOR-PROFIT COMPETITION FROM A NEW DIRECTION

Letter carriers might be getting updated job descriptions according to a report by the U.S. Postal Service Inspector General that proposes they would stop in the homes of isolated seniors for check-ups and services. These fee-based visits would also include helping seniors with household chores like installing appliances, in addition to assessing their health and delivering medications, groceries, etc.

Although one of the driving factors behind the Postal Service’s proposal is financial gain, they also see it as a way to fight isolation for seniors. We’re seeing more and more organizations understanding the threats of senior isolation and looking to engage in solutions for an issue that historically has been kept behind closed doors. 

Read more about the Inspector General’s proposal here. 
 

ASSOCIATION UPDATES

NEW MEALS ON WHEELS AMERICA LOGO NAMED
AMONG TOP 20 BRAND REDESIGNS BY PASTE MAGAZINE

Our new brand was created to modernize, energize and unify the national Meals on Wheels movement – for us and for you! That’s why being recognized by Paste Magazine as one of the top 20 brand redesigns so far in 2015 is something we all can be proud of. Several other well-known brands also made the list, such as, Facebook, MTV, IHOP and Southern Comfort. The article specifically acknowledges our brighter color palette, which was created to introduce more urgency and vibrancy to the overall look.
 

YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THIS UNITED BRAND MOVEMENT IS VITAL – FOR YOUR COMMUNITY AND THE NETWORK AS A WHOLE.


Adopting its messaging and visual components will make this movement even more powerful and your local community messages even stronger. Learn how you can get on board to make our collective and individual Meals on Wheels voices as powerful as possible here.
paste

MEMBER OPPORTUNITIES & BENEFITS

  COMING SOON: MORE THAN $500,000 IN DRIVING THE MOVEMENT GRANTS

The 2015 Meals on Wheels Driving the Movement grants, funded by Subaru, will launch this fall for Member programs in good standing as of October 15, 2015. The purpose of this grant opportunity program is to increase your organization’s measurable impact and fill the funding gaps needed to finance some of your most pressing needs. Below are a few things to be aware of as we approach the application period.
 

FUNDING AVAILABLE

Over $500,000 will be made available through this opportunity, and funding requests will be capped at $5,000 per eligible Member program.

ALLOCATED AMOUNTS

Grants will be made available to Member programs based on Subaru’s state allocations. Certain states, 11 in total, have already exceeded their grant funds through allocations distributed for the 2014-2015 “Share the Love” event, March for Meals campaign and 2015 Annual Conference and Expo scholarships. These states are:  Arkansas, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Vermont. There is limited funding available for Alaska, Kansas and West Virginia. If there is leftover funding available from other states, we will make grants available for the states mentioned above.

APPLICATION MADE EASY

The application will include six questions, each of which can be completed in just one or two paragraphs. Reporting requirements will also be minimal. Awards will be given to address a wide range of funding needs that include those listed below: 

  • Removing individuals from waiting lists;
  • Expanding community outreach to identify seniors who are in need but unaware of the program’s services;
  • Advertising for volunteers;
  • Training volunteers; and/or
  • Purchasing new equipment – primarily for kitchens.

 
STAY TUNED

We’ll provide even more information next month. If you have any questions in the meantime, feel free to reach out to our Chief Membership Officer Keith Greene at keith@mealsonwheelsamerica.org or 571-339-1610.

Going to this year’s Conference in Orlando? Stop by the Membership Booth (Booth 330) at the 2015 Meals on Wheels Expo on Wednesday, September 2 starting at 3:15 p.m.

ENGAGE IN THE NATIONAL DAY OF SERVICE AND REMEMBRANCE

Many of you participated in our recent Ad Council volunteer survey that confirmed the power of the ride-along as a successful volunteer recruitment activity. The number one reason that Meals on Wheels volunteers said they started volunteering was that a friend or family member encouraged them to do so. That makes this year’s National Day of Service and Remembrance on September 11 a wonderful time to encourage these powerful, accompanied deliveries.
 

3 WAYS TO CELEBRATE

 Here are three ways to make taking part easy:

1. Post our social media images on Facebook and/or Twitter to invite your networks to join you for a ride-along meal delivery. All you need to do is upload the images below as photos and include text that is specific to your opportunity. The official hashtag is #911Day.
 

Sample Facebook Post:
Help deliver more than just a meal to seniors in need on the National Day of Service and Remembrance on Friday, September 11. Call [phone number] to schedule a ride-along today!

Sample Twitter Post:
Learn first-hand how we deliver so much more than a meal. Schedule a ride-along today by calling [phone number] #911Day

DOWNLOAD THE SOCIAL MEDIA IMAGES

2. Encourage your existing volunteers to invite a friend or family member to join them for their delivery on 9/11. One way they can do this is to ask them to post the social media images on their own Facebook or Twitter accounts.
 


Sample Email Copy for Your Volunteers to Encourage their Friends:
Invite a friend or family member to join you on your route on Friday, September 11 in honor of the National Day of Service and Remembrance. Ride-alongs are a great way to show others that we deliver so much more than a meal, and to introduce them to the many personal benefits to volunteering, too! You can invite your friends on Facebook or Twitter with our social media images and then simply call [insert your program phone number] to schedule their ride-along.


3. Register a service project on Serve.gov and recruit volunteers with ease! This site also provides free marketing materials, social media buttons and widgets that you can use on websites and blogs, in print, and more. Browse the available resources here.

Day_of_service_images_logo_bar
We hope that this annual day of service brings added support to your program as we all pay tribute to 9/11 victims, survivors and those who rose up in service in response to the attacks.

NEW MEMBER DISCOUNT PROGRAM PRODUCTS

We’re featuring even more ways to save through new services and products available now! Check out the latest products and deals offered through our exclusive Member Discount Program below.

SAVE UP TO 24% ON YOUR CELL PHONE SERVICE

Members can now receive major discounts on corporate and employee cellular services with both Verizon and Sprint. Through our Premier Group Purchasing Plan, Members are eligible for the following discounts:
 
  • SPRINT: Receive a 24% discount on corporate lines and 23% discount on all employee lines with enrollment in e-billing (19% discount without e-billing enrollment)
  • VERIZON: Receive a 22% discount on corporate lines and employee lines with enrollment billing (19% discount on employee lines without e-billing enrollment)

If you are already a Premier Member, you can start taking advantage of these savings now! Click here for enrollment instructions.

MEET YOUR SENIORS’ NUTRITIONAL NEEDS FOR LESS

Abbott Nutrition, the makers of Ensure, has long been the leader in senior nutrition supplements and a partner in our Member Discount Program. Their products are designed to meet the specific nutritional needs of your clients, and they have recently added new offerings to their portfolio! You can purchase these products and others at a reduced group rate through the Member Discount Program. Below is a list of Abbott’s most popular products that you can save on now:

Ensure Original Therapeutic Nutrition
Ensure Original Therapeutic Nutrition can benefit patients who have malnutrition, are at nutritional risk or are experiencing involuntary weight loss.

Ensure Plus Therapeutic Nutrition
Ensure Plus provides concentrated calories and additional protein to help clients gain or maintain healthy weight.

Glucerna Therapeutic Nutrition Shake
Glucerna Therapeutic Nutrition Shake has CarbSteady™, a unique blend of carbohydrates  shown to help minimize blood glucose response. This product is an especially good choice for clients trying to manage their blood glucose levels and weight.

 
If you are not already a Premier Member, click here to sign up today and start saving. For more details on the program, contact our Business Services Manager Steven Skelton at steven@mealsonwheelsamerica.org or 706-436-3999.

P.S. - Going to this year’s Conference in Orlando? Stop by the Premier Booth (Booth 127) at the 2015 Meals on Wheels Expo on Wednesday, September 2 starting at 3:15 p.m.

          LinkedIn_logo_initials2

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

 

Did you know that we have an online discussion group where Members just like you are actively collaborating with their peers on crucial topics? Contribute and learn about these hot topics by joining our LinkedIn Discussion Group here.

WEBINAR: EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS FOR HOMEBOUND SENIORS –
BE PREPARED, BE INFORMED, BE SAFE!

 

When disaster strikes, we want to be as prepared as possible - particularly for those most vulnerable. This webinar will explore how to do just that on Thursday, September 10 at 3:30 p.m. EDT. Fellow Member program Heritage Agency on Aging from Cedar Rapids, IA will join us to share best practices on how to prepare your program and its seniors for emergencies, and what to do when they actually happen, along with experts from the Department of Human Ecology. We'll also present key findings from two studies: a large multi-state emergency preparedness study conducted by Rutgers University and Meals on Wheels America that involved over 700 homebound seniors, as well as the results of a study on seniors affected by Hurricane Irene.

IN THIS WEBINAR YOU WILL:
 
  • Gain a better understanding of how to prepare your program and your seniors for disaster;
  • Hear best practices from a fellow Member program who has dealt with disaster; and
  • Learn how to best apply these learnings to prepare your program.

WEBINAR: Emergency Preparedness for Homebound Seniors – Be Prepared, Be Informed, Be Safe! 
PRESENTERS: Dr. William Hallman, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the Department of Human Ecology; Angela Senger-Mersich, M.S., Research Associate of the Department of Human Ecology; Tim Getty, Regional Nutrition Services Coordinator of the Heritage Agency on Aging
WHEN: Thursday, September 10
TIME: 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. EDT
FEE: FREE
REGISTER NOW

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

 

Lower Sioux Indian Community
Mad River Valley Seniors
Mississippi Department of Human Services
Northwest Assistance Ministries Meals on Wheels
Tabitha Health Care Services