Wilkinsburg Community Ministry Awarded Grant from Meals On Wheels Association of America and Bank of America Charitable Foundation to Help Feed Hungry Seniors
The support of the Bank of America Charitable Foundation will allow WCM to add extra meals to delivery service so that seniors will have meals for Saturday and Sunday.
(August 23), (Pittsburgh, PA) – Wilkinsburg Community Ministry has been awarded a $5,000 grant from the Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA) and the Bank of America Charitable Foundation. The money will allow the Wilkinsburg Community Ministry to add approximately 1440 meals for the year, or 30 additional meals per week.
The Wilkinsburg Community Ministry (WCM) currently delivers meals to seniors Monday through Friday. However, many of the seniors do not have caregivers or anyone to prepare meals for them on Saturday or Sunday. As it is difficult for them to prepare food themselves, many go hungry. Adding extra meals to Friday's delivery service will to tide over the seniors for the weekend, addressing basic food necessities and making seniors more comfortable during what could be their last weeks. This grant from Bank of America is paying for the added cost of food, food preparation, and delivery of meals to seniors.
“Thanks to the Bank of America Charitable Foundation/MOWAA Emergent Meal Grant Program, we can feed more meals to seniors in need,” said Ann Grieder, Executive Director of Wilkinsburg Community Ministry. “This money comes at a critical time as the need to help homebound and hungry seniors in Wilkinsburg continues to grow.”
Over the past year, many Meals On Wheels programs were forced to change or reduce their services, but the Bank of America Charitable Foundation has come forward to help restore those meals. The foundation has provided a $500,000 grant to MOWAA, half of which is helping Meals On Wheels programs across the U.S. bring back meal services that were cut.
“As an increasing number of seniors and families are experiencing hardship, we are proud to partner with Wilkinsburg Community Ministry to help put meals on the table in homes across our community,” said Deborah O'Brien of Bank of America. With this support, we hope to set in motion opportunities to help individuals, families and entire neighborhoods thrive while helping end senior hunger.”
Late last year MOWAA released a groundbreaking study revealing that six million seniors in America face the threat of hunger. The report, entitled “Senior Hunger in the United States: Differences across States and Rural and Urban Areas,” found that the number of seniors facing the threat of hunger jumped an astonishing 20% in just one year. The Bank of America Charitable Foundation/MOWAA Emergent Meal Grant Program is intended to help combat this major problem and bring more meals to our hungry seniors.
Wilkinsburg Community Ministry
The Wilkinsburg Community Ministry (WCM) is a 501 (c) (3) community nonprofit that provides basic necessities, such as hot meals to youth and senior citizens, clothing and emergency food to families, and energy assistance to Wilkinsburg residents in need. The Wilkinsburg Community Ministry's programs have alleviated hunger and provided basic necessities for senior citizens, citizens with disabilities, at-risk and developmentally challenged youth, and disenfranchised residents of Wilkinsburg, PA for over 40 years. To learn more, please visit http://www.wcm15221.org
Bank of America Corporate Philanthropy
Building on a long-standing tradition of investing in the communities it serves, last year Bank of America embarked on a new, 10-year goal to donate $2 billion to nonprofit organizations engaged in improving the health and vitality of their neighborhoods. Funded by Bank of America, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation gave more than $200 million in 2009, making the bank one of the largest corporate cash donors in the United States. Bank of America approaches investing through a national strategy under which it works with local leaders to identify and meet the most pressing needs of individual communities. Reaffirming a commitment to develop and sustain a culture of service, the bank announced the “Million Hour Challenge,” a pledge by the company's associates around the world to donate 1 million volunteer hours by the end of 2010. In 2009, bank associate volunteers contributed more than 800,000 hours to enhance the quality of life in their communities nationwide. For more information about Bank of America Corporate Philanthropy, please visit www.bankofamerica.com/foundation
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Ann Greider
Executive Director
Wilkinsburg Community Ministry Meals on Wheels
412-241-8072
anng@wcm15221.org
Walmart Foundation Grant to Meals On Wheels Association of America to Help Feed Hungry Seniors at Wilkinsburg Community Ministry Grant received at critical time as economy threatens seniors in Wilkinsburg, PA.
(3-11-2010), (Wilkinsburg, PA) – Wilkinsburg Community Ministry has been awarded $15,000 through a Walmart Foundation grant to the Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA). The money will provide the Wilkinsburg Community Ministry Meals on Wheels program with much-needed delivery vehicle which is critical to continue serving seniors in our neighborhoods.
This financial support is desperately needed as many Meals On Wheels programs across the country are struggling to survive during this economic downturn. The “Walmart Foundation Impact Grant” is intended to help Wilkinsburg Community Ministry continue to meet the long term equipment needs of providing meals to our seniors in Wilkinsburg, PA. Last year, many Meals On Wheels programs were forced to change or reduce their services, but the Walmart Foundation stepped in to help restore those meals. This year, the Walmart Foundation is spending more than $2 million nationwide to make sure Meals On Wheels programs have the equipment they need to maintain their operations into the future.
“Seniors have been hit especially hard in this economy and we feel a responsibility to help,” said Margaret McKenna, president of the Walmart Foundation. “We're proud to support Meals on Wheels programs across the U.S. who work on the front lines of ending senior hunger.”
“Thanks to the Walmart Foundation Impact Grant, we now have a deliver vehicle which will make it possible to keep feeding seniors for years to come,” said Ann Greider, Executive Director of the Wilkinsburg Community Ministry. “This grant will help us provide the next meal to many of our clients in need and will truly make a difference for the seniors of Wilkinsburg.”
“The Walmart Foundation has once again stepped up to the plate as a powerful partner in the fight to end senior hunger,” said Enid Borden, president and CEO of MOWAA. “They are our largest corporate partner to date and their support will make a tremendous impact in helping our programs sustain meal services well into the future. We can't thank the Walmart Foundation enough for joining us in our national movement to end senior hunger in America by 2020.”
Late last year MOWAA released a groundbreaking study revealing six million seniors in America face the risk of hunger. The report, entitled, “Senior Hunger in the United States : Differences across States and Rural and Urban Areas” was sponsored by MOWAA and shows that the number of seniors facing the hunger risk jumped an astonishing 20 percent in just one year. The Walmart Impact Grant Program is intended to help combat the problem of senior hunger.
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About Wilkinsburg Community Ministry
The Wilkinsburg Community Ministry (WCM) is a 501 (c) (3) community nonprofit that provides basic necessities, such as hot meals to youth and senior citizens, clothing and emergency food to families, and energy assistance to Wilkinsburg residents in need. The Wilkinsburg Community Ministry's programs have alleviated hunger and provided basic necessities for senior citizens, citizens with disabilities, at-risk and developmentally challenged youth, and disenfranchised residents of Wilkinsburg, PA for over 40 years. To learn more, please visit www.wcm15221.org.
About Philanthropy at Walmart
Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are proud to support the charitable causes that are important to customers and associates in their own neighborhoods. Through its philanthropic programs and partnerships, the Walmart Foundation funds initiatives focused on creating opportunities in education, workforce development, economic opportunity, environmental sustainability, and health and wellness. From February 1, 2008 through January 31, 2009, Walmart – and its domestic and international foundations – gave more than $423 million in cash and in-kind gifts globally. To learn more, visit www.walmartfoundation.org.
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The Wilkinsburg Community Ministry was awarded $10,000 from the Dominion Foundation
(December 2008)
DOMINION GIVES $10,000 TO WILKINSBURG COMMUNITY MINISTRY
Grant Will Help Support After-School Food Program
PITTSBURGH-The Dominion Foundation has announced a $10,000 grant to the Wilkinsburg Community Ministry for its After-School Program.
Its mission is to develop and deliver programs to meet the physical, social, economic and spiritual needs of Wilkinsburg families, individuals and member congregations.
The grant will help support more than 125 children in the ministry's After-School Food Program, which provides lunch for the PLEA School, a licensed program for children ages 3 to 14 facing behavioral and developmental problems.
The Boys and Girls Club of Wilkinsburg and Edgewood Presbyterian's FROGS Program, (Friends, Reading, & Other Great Stuff) will also benefit from the grant.
Funding for the grants comes from the Dominion Foundation, which is the philanthropic arm of Dominion dedicated to the economic, physical and social health of the communities served by Dominion companies.
Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers of energy, with a portfolio of more than 27,000 megawatts of generation. Dominion serves retail energy customers in 12 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at http://www.dom.com .
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