Siloam Springs Regional Hospital Auxiliary members presented Kathy Patterson, director of the Siloam Springs Senior Activity and Wellness Center, a $2,500 check on Feb. 26 to be used for the Meals on Wheels program.
The Senior Center served more than 12,000 meals at their location at 750 Heritage Court last year, and delivered more than 20,000 meals through the mobile program, according to Patterson. Meals on Wheels helps seniors stay in their homes for as long as possible, especially those who don't have a family support system in the area, she said.
"Our main goal with delivering meals is to help people and keep them independent, keep them out of the nursing home," Patterson said. "If we can keep them out of the nursing home, everybody wants to be home, nobody wants to be in the nursing home."
Fran Hamilton, auxiliary treasurer, said she became familiar with the Meals on Wheels program while volunteering at the Senior Center, and presented the idea of donating to the organization to her fellow auxilians.
"We like to do things to help the community," Hamilton said. "We've been involved in everything from Bright Futures to bears for the hospital, so I just kinda presented it to the auxiliary and they said 'Fabulous, it's a good community project,' and that's how it came about."
The auxiliary has a variety of fundraisers throughout the year, including bake sales, linen sales, book sales and a Valentines auction.
The Senior Center asks for a $3 donation for the meals it serves, so $2,500 will feed a lot of people, Patterson said. The cost for each meal is closer to $5 she said.
"Most of the people who are on the home delivered meal program, they don't have the funds to even donate," she said. "Every month they choose whether they're going to buy medicine or food. Whenever I do my paperwork to see if they qualify for meals, I tell them 'If you can't afford to make a donation, don't worry about it because we'll feed you anyway.' That's why we do fundraisers and ask for donations all the time, to make up that difference."
General News on 03/07/2018