Supporting Seniors and Their Families through the Subaru Share the Love® Event

In 2021, a friend of Jane’s recognized that something needed to change.

Jane’s limited mobility made it difficult for her to get to the grocery store and eat the way she needed to stay healthy. As her challenges grew, so did the concern of those who cared about her most.

“Her daughter was doing everything she could, but she lived an hour away,” says Heather Milardo, Director of Development and Outreach at the Estuary, which administers the local Meals on Wheels provider based in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. “She was really struggling.”

Jane’s friend knew that connecting her with the local Meals on Wheels provider was the lifeline she needed.

Jane hesitated due to concerns about the cost of Meals on Wheels, even after discovering it provides meals at no charge, thanks to the generosity of businesses like Reynolds’ Subaru. She worried that accepting help might take meals away from someone else who needed them.

Even conversations with the provider about the importance of nutrition to her health couldn’t shake her worry that she was taking meals away from those who needed them more.

Thankfully, with encouragement from her friend and family, she agreed, and the decision has been life-changing for Jane and her family.

“The relief on her daughter’s face when you talk to her, it’s pretty amazing to see,” Heather says. “She’s so happy that her mom is happy, that she’s eating well, that somebody is [visiting] her every day.”

Her story demonstrates the power of the Subaru Share the Love Event, which, this fall, celebrates 18 years of partnership with Meals on Wheels America. During this event, Subaru and its retailers donate a minimum of $300 to charities like Meals on Wheels America, for every new vehicle purchased or leased from November 20th, 2025, to January 2nd, 2026.

Over nearly two decades, Subaru and its retailers have supported the delivery of nearly 5 million meals and generated over $34 million in support for Meals on Wheels.

Subaru’s Legacy of Local Impact Through the Subaru Share the Love® Event

Since 1859, the family-owned Reynolds’ Subaru has been a member of its close-knit Connecticut community.

Siblings Kathryn Wayland and Hayden Reynolds, who are part of the sixth generation of family members to own the dealership, are proud to carry on their family’s legacy of local impact through the Subaru Share the Love Event.

“It’s a small community, where everyone knows everyone,” Hayden says. “But everyone cares about everyone, and that’s what makes it special.”

For Reynolds’ Subaru, supporting organizations like Meals on Wheels is part of their family’s DNA.

“My dad and mom always taught us to value our community,” Kathryn says. “You wouldn’t be here without your community.”

The Reynolds’ Subaru family has been a longtime supporter of Meals on Wheels, as donors at the national level and as volunteers for their local provider, operated by Estuary. When the opportunity arose to support Meals on Wheels through the Subaru Share the Love Event, they were eager to deepen that connection in their own backyard.

Reynolds Subaru’s recent Subaru Share the Love Event donation of $46,050 has enabled Jane, one of 325 seniors the local provider serves every day, to continue receiving nutritious meals.

Share the Love empowers small businesses like Reynolds’ to make local gifts that are often transformative.

“I think we’re lucky,” Heather says. “Every time we get somebody like Jane who needs us, we’re immediately able to have that response. There’s absolutely a direct correlation to the community around us.”

Reynolds Subaru’s support has deepened its relationship with the local Meals on Wheels, its hometown charity for the second year running.

“Once you participate in this program, you start to see and experience your community with different eyes,” Kathryn says.

It’s the kind of change that delivery drivers see every day when they visit homebound senior Jane.

“She’s so happy every time the driver comes to her door,” Heather says. “She lights up.”

The Estuary sees its relationship with Reynolds’ Subaru as immeasurable. Year-round, the retailer raises awareness about the Meals on Wheels program, provides opportunities for its employees to volunteer, and inspires customers to get involved.

“It doesn’t end when the Subaru Share the Love Event is over,” says Stan Mingione, executive director of the Estuary. “It’s a relationship that continues. Those kinds of partnerships, you can’t put a price on.”

It’s a relationship that, like Subaru, is built for durability.

“You’re talking about a business and an organization, both of which have been a very critical part of the community for most people’s lifetime,” Heather says. “That creates a lot of trust. To have each other is pretty great.”

The Estuary feels that the Subaru Share the Love Event lives up to its proud legacy.

“I love the term ‘share the love’, because that’s what [Reynolds’] is doing,” Stan says. “They’re sharing that love. We’re all brought into that sense of family and community through this program.”