Volunteers painted the town orange collecting donations to feed seniors

27 March 2019, 04:56 AM

General

200+ Volunteers were sporting their orange shirts at 15 locations across Grand Cayman for the Meals on Wheels annual Change for Change Coin Drive on 22 and 23 March 2019. The community came out in full force in support of the charity which raised funds to help feed the 230 seniors presently enrolled in the programme. Meals on Wheels is working hard in to raise an additional CI$100,000 in 2019 to enable the addition of 80 seniors who remain on a waiting list.

Meals on Wheels works hard to raise the current monthly meal costs of just under CI$25,000. The organization derives the majority of its funds from private donations and fundraising events and relies on approximately 100 + volunteers who deliver the meals weekly during their lunch hour. Volunteer delivery drivers commit to one day per week every week and use their own vehicle and gas money. Meals on Wheels prepares a nutritious hot meal and soup for the seniors Monday through Friday.

Erin Bodden, Meals on Wheels General Manager said “I am overwhelmed truly by the wonderful support I saw this weekend from our community! Everyone from the civil servants, church groups, corporate teams and of course individuals who all took the time out of their busy schedule to support the Coin Drive. It is because of these volunteers and donations that Meals on Wheels continues to serve. Thank you so much for opening your heart and emptying your pockets for such a worthy cause.”

Past Meals on Wheels Board Member and longtime supporter, Jennifer Smith said, “Over the years I’ve served Meals on Wheels in various capacities, at fundraisers and on the Board of Directors. It has been a pleasure to be a part of an organization that is changing lives. One thing that stood out to me this year was the number of people that donated and came up to me and said what an amazing impact the organization had on one of their family members. It was really moving, to have someone say, what a help Meals on Wheels had been to a mother or an uncle of theirs and to see where these funds we are collecting are going. By collecting our communities change, we are tangibly changing the fabric of our society, filling a basic human need, nourishment and love.”

There are some expenses to run the coin drive everything from the advertising, to volunteer t-shirts to the collection buckets, safety and logistics. This year Davenport Development Ltd., Cayman Armored Courier Services Ltd., Radio Cayman, Cayman Compass and other media partners, helped Meals on Wheels cover those costs to ensure that every dollar raised goes straight to feeding Meals on Wheels seniors in need.

Meals on Wheels would like to thank the following locations who opened their stores including Foster’s Food Fair locations, A.L. Thompson’s, Butterfield, Cayman National Bank, Cost U Less, Scotia Bank, First Caribbean Bank, Hurley’s Supermarket, Kirk Market and Rocky’s Diamonds.

In addition, Meals on Wheels is grateful to the 200 + volunteers who collected including the Cayman Islands Civil Servants who rallied volunteers from their various departments along with the following civic minded organizations who encouraged their staff to get involved:

Appleby

Aureum RE

Cayman Islands Civil Servants

Cayman Turtle Centre

Credit Union

Davenport Development

Engel & Voelkers

Estera

First Baptist Church, Grand Cayman

HSA

Island Companies

Island Heritage