SelectCare Gives Back to Citymeals On-Wheels

 The holiday season is a special time of year, full of traditions.  This year, the SelectCare Home Care Services’ staff decided to end one tradition and begin a new one: SelectCare is no longer sending paper holiday cards to our clients and community partners. Instead, we are contributing our annual holiday card budget to charities like Citymeals On Wheels!

 By donating $1,000 to Citymeals, we were able to provide 155 hot meals to seniors this holiday season!

Citymeals On Wheels provides homebound seniors 60 and older with daily meal deliveries, social visits and opportunities for volunteers to stay in touch with isolated elders by phone and mail.

The Citymeals program was founded in 1981 by celebrity chef James Beard and food critic Gael Greene in response to the growing population of elderly New Yorkers who go without hot food or company during holidays. Since their initial Christmas campaign, which fed 6,000 people, the program has extended to every borough of the city, providing more than 2 million meals to 18,000 recipients in 2014.

While Citymeals is always accepting contributions to expand their meal delivery program, there are several other ways you can get involved:

• Social visits organized through Citymeals are a great way to connect one-on-one with a homebound senior.
• Meal deliveries don’t happen on their own and there is a huge demand for volunteers to help bring food to seniors, especially during the holidays.
• Phone/Letter correspondence programs are a great way to let a homebound senior know that they are not alone and demand less of a time commitment than meal delivery. This is also a great program for older people interested in volunteering but weary of travelling around the city.
•  Kitchen Aides are always in demand at Citymeal food preparation centers, where you can assist in packaging and preparing meals for delivery.

If you know anyone who might benefit from these programs, signing up to receive meals or social visits is simple. Visit the Citymeals Website, type in your zip code and contact the number provided to get started.

Keep in mind that there is a huge demand for the services offered by Citymeals. People looking to receive services must be: 60 or older, in need of some assistance due to a physical or mental impairment, unable to prepare meals without assistance, and otherwise able to live safely in their home if provided with needed services.

From everyone at SelectCare, we wish to thank our clients, community partners and caregivers for all their hard work and trust, which made this contribution possible.

SelectCare is proud to contribute to Citymeals On Wheels and hopes to further support our community partners in the future. To learn more about how our talented staff of home caregivers can make a difference for your older loved ones, call us today.