Meals on Wheels Affiliate Joins Nationwide Campaign to Drive Volunteers and Help Serve More Seniors

Senior Connections, a local non-profit organization providing home and community-based services to seniors in metro Atlanta and middle Georgia, has joined with Meals on Wheels America in its first-ever national campaign to recruit volunteers to serve the nation’s most vulnerable citizens – its seniors. Produced in partnership with the Ad Council, “America Let’s Do Lunch™” aims to inspire a new army of volunteers to deliver meals with a personal touch to seniors living on their own. The fully integrated campaign, which includes TV, radio, print, out-of-home and digital public service announcements (PSAs), launched in major markets across the U.S., including Atlanta, on July 12 with a goal of recruiting 1 million volunteers this year.

The campaign, created pro bono by the ad agency Anomaly, will invite America to “Do Lunch” by volunteering during the critical lunch hour period to deliver meals and a smile to seniors. The TV, radio, print, out-of-home will tell the poignant stories of just a few of the 2.4 million seniors the national Meals on Wheels network serves each year, stories that celebrate their lives and show how inspiring, wise and charming they really are. To further highlight their stories, renowned celebrity photographer Mark Seliger – who has photographed some of our culture’s most famous faces from Kurt Cobain to President Obama – will be turning his lens to Meals on Wheels seniors and creating a series of portraits for the campaign.

“We rely on an army of volunteers to deliver over 15,000 meals per week,” said Debra Furtado, CEO, Senior Connections, “but it’s not just about the meals. For many seniors, the volunteer who delivers that meal may be the only person they will see all day. That moment of personal connection will nourish the volunteer and senior alike.”

More than 10 million (1 in 6) seniors in the U.S. face the threat of hunger and more than 15 million (1 in 4) are living in isolation. In metro Atlanta alone, Senior Connections – along with fellow MOW affiliates Meals on Wheels Atlanta and Open Hand – bring meals and smiles each week to over 24,000 seniors and others with disabilities and illness. With the senior population projected to double by 2050, many new volunteers are needed to meet the growing need.

“We’re so excited to be working with Meals on Wheels programs across the country to launch this national effort on the ground,” said Ellie Hollander, president and CEO of Meals on Wheels America. “We hope that by sharing just a few of our seniors’ amazing and heartfelt stories, we can inspire even more volunteers to lend a caring hand to the growing number of aging neighbors in need.”

To learn more about the “America, Let’s Do Lunch” campaign or to volunteer, visit www.AmericaLetsDoLunch.org, or follow Meals on Wheels America on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

About Senior Connections

Since 1973 Senior Connections has provided programs and services designed to help seniors “age in place” in the comfort of their own homes. More than 15,000 nutritious meals are prepared weekly out of Senior Connections’ main kitchen, and meals are distributed throughout metro Atlanta and middle Georgia. In addition to providing this large number of meals, the nonprofit agency provides home repair, in-home care and neighborhood centers to area seniors. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, services are available to anyone over the age of 62, regardless of income level. More information is available at www.seniorconnectionsatl.org and you can follow the organization on Facebook and Twitter.

Meals on Wheels America

Meals on Wheels America is the oldest and largest national organization supporting the more than 5,000 community-based programs across the country that are dedicated to addressing senior isolation and hunger. This network exists in virtually every community in America and, along with more than two million staff and volunteers, delivers the nutritious meals, friendly visits and safety checks that enable America’s seniors to live nourished lives with independence and dignity. By providing funding, leadership, education, research and advocacy support, Meals on Wheels America empowers its local member programs to strengthen their communities, one senior at a time. For more information, or to find a Meals on Wheels provider near you, visit www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org.