Ball, auction will benefit senior meals program

Sat., Nov. 25, 2006

Steve Christilaw Correspondent

Now that the first great holiday feast of the season is behind us – all but the leftovers for most of us, of course – it’s a good time to turn a little attention to those for whom preparing an everyday meal is a major chore.

Spokane Valley Meals on Wheels is a lifesaver to many senior citizens in our community.

“Our home-delivered meal program delivers about 80,000 meals a year,” Executive Director Pam Almeida said. “We have three senior lunch programs for seniors who aren’t homebound – they come together, share a meal and socialize with others – and we do about 24,000 meals in those programs.”

Spokane Valley Meals on Wheels will hold what it hopes will become an annual fundraiser Friday at CenterPlace at Mirabeau.

A holiday ball and gift auction will begin at 6 p.m. with a silent auction and social hour, followed by a dinner prepared by A Catered Affair, a Christmas tree auction and program at 7, and highlighted by music for dancing from Men in the Making from 9 to 11.

Tickets are $75, and reservations should be made by Monday.

Meals on Wheels started out providing meals in homes, Almeida said. But in so doing, it discovered the need to provide meals outside the home as well. Currently, the Spokane Valley program provides lunches at the Spokane Valley Senior Center and Opportunity Presbyterian Church, and recently added a location in Liberty Lake.

“With our senior lunch programs, it’s about helping these seniors stay active and engaged in the community so they stay healthier longer,” Almeida said. “We want people to be out and active, but we realize that’s not always possible.”

Providing a good, quality meal often means the difference between seniors being able to stay in their own home and being forced to move into an assisted-living center or nursing home.

“It’s very difficult for seniors to get out and shop and then carry those groceries in and prepare a meal,” Almeida said.

It takes a volunteer group of about 250 to deliver meals.

“We’re very thankful for the local assisted-living centers and nursing homes. They’re providing meals for us for Thanksgiving and Christmas,” she said. “Our kitchen is closed, so we had to find other ways to provide meals.”

Almeida said there is always an increase in demand during the holidays.

“We get a lot of calls from family members,” she said. “When you only talk on the phone once in a while, it’s easy for seniors to say that they’re OK and don’t need any help. But at the holidays, when they come to visit, they see that there is a need.”

And that need is year-round.

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