LIFE ElderCare honors community service awardees

October 3, 2012 by
HRC Awardees

Tammy Duran, MOW Volunteer Coordinator, Mary Margaret Simms, Patricia Osage, Executive Director, Marty Fraga.

LIFE ElderCare is proud to announce that the Fremont Human Relations Commission (HRC) has awarded two of its own: Marty Fraga and Mary Margaret Simms with 2012 Human Services Awards.

At the Fremont City Council meeting on October 2, Mayor Morrison presented the awards for outstanding community service to: Marty Fraga, Mary Margaret Simms, and also to Jeevan Zutshi, Raj Salwan, and Abode Services.

Marty Fraga received the Human Services Professional Award for her long-time leadership at LIFE ElderCare in the Meals on Wheels program. As a nurse and health care educator, Marty brings fourth-year California State University, East Bay nursing students in for a semester at a time to work with the vulnerable seniors who receive our meals. Marty’s deep concern for the needs of older adults has been a life long passion and she is passing that down to the next generation of young health care workers.

“Marty’s program at LIFE ElderCare has enhanced the care provided to our seniors and those with disabilities a hundredfold,” says Barbara Emge, Meals on Wheels Coordinator. “I can’t imagine us being without the vital services they provide.”

Mary Margaret Simms received the Human Services Individual Award for 26 years of service as a LIFE ElderCare Meals on Wheels volunteer driver. Twenty six years! Ms Simms brings a smile to the faces of both staff and meal recipients. She loves what she does and it shows.

“We are very proud of the contributions Marty and Mary bring to LIFE,” said Patricia Osage, Executive Director. “We feel lucky to have so many amazing people as part of the LIFE family. Speaking on behalf of the staff, the other volunteers, and all of our board members and program participants, I can say that we are Marty and Mary’s biggest fans!”

Since the early 1990′s, the HRC has recognized individuals and groups in the community that have made outstanding contributions in the pursuit of equality, justice, human services and human rights for all citizens.

 

Filed Under: Meals on Wheels, Volunteer Opportunities Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Meal On Wheels helps Philip, 96, stay independent.

July 30, 2012 by

PhilipProfile of Philip, a Fremont resident who has been fixing clocks for 88 years.

In the small Colorado town where I grew up, people brought their broken clocks to the local jewelry store to be repaired. Those that could not be fixed were donated to kids who wanted to play with them. The first one I got couldn’t be fixed because I didn’t have the parts, but a few weeks later I was given another one that was the same model. By taking parts out of that one, I was able to get the other one working. I was eight years old and have been fixing clocks ever since.

I came to California in 1936, but after losing my job went back to Colorado. A high point of that trip was crossing the Bay Bridge from San Francisco to Oakland. It took four hours and cost 65 cents. In 1939, I came back to the Bay Area and got a job as a mechanic for the bus company. I retired in 1980 at 65.

My six children, 20 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren and 5 great-greats are spread out all over the country. I only have one son who lives nearby. My wife and I learned about Meals On Wheels about a year ago when I went to the hospital for some tests. I’m 96 and she’s 86, so we were having a hard time keeping up with shopping and cooking. The meals are healthy which helps me manage my diabetes.

Filed Under: Life Stories, Meals on Wheels Tagged With: , , ,

Friends Deliver Together

June 19, 2012 by

For the past 20 years, Susan and Marilyn have been delivering meals to frail, home bound seniors. We recently chatted with them about how volunteering has enriched their lives.

Susan and Marilyn - Meals On Wheels Drivers

Susan and Marilyn

Susan - I had a friend that used to deliver meals and thought it was something I might like to do, but at the time I still had a daughter who was in the lower grades and had to pick her up early from school. When she started going the full day I thought, I can do this now. I signed up in January 1993.

Marilyn was a neighbor and a good friend and I asked her if she wanted to deliver meals with me. We thought we were going to ease into it but the Coordinator said, “So, can you start tomorrow!” During the first 19 years there were only five times when we could not cover our shift.

It’s more fun to deliver with a friend; we usually have lunch together when we finish. I think the people we deliver to enjoy it too. Some of them see us as “the team” and worry if one of us doesn’t come.

Of course, not everyone wants a connection. Some people just leave their coolers out and we hardly ever see them. But there are other people we become friends with and when they go off the program Marilyn and I continue to visit them. One woman was 98 and almost blind when we started delivering meals to her. We went to her 99th and 100th birthday parties. She outlived all of her five children.

You have more people in your life that are going to leave before you do and that’s hard, but on the other hand, the people we get to know add so much to our lives. The two hours of the week I deliver meals are when I feel most appreciated.

Marilyn - It is nice to deliver together. Some people really look forward to us coming and light up when they see us. It’s an important part of their day and for us as well.

We had one fellow, who at the beginning, definitely did not want us there. He was grumpy and distant but after he got to know us we became really close friends. When he later went into a convalescent home we continued to visit him until he passed away. His wife told us that our visits were the highlight of his week. For some people, the caring connection means more than the meal.

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LIFE ElderCare Hosts 2012 Mayors for Meals Day on March 21st

March 6, 2012 by

On Wednesday, March 21, LIFE ElderCare will be joining other communities around the country for the 2012 Mayors For Meals Day. During this annual event, community leaders will help volunteer drivers deliver meals and have the opportunity to meet with some of the seniors in their respective cities who depend on the Meals On Wheels program to meet their daily nutritional needs. The following elected officials will participate in meal deliveries in Fremont, Newark and Union City:

  • Gus Morrison, Mayor, Fremont
  • Alan Nagy, Mayor, Newark
  • Anu Natarajan, (Vice Mayor) City Council Member, Fremont
  • Suzanne Chan, City Council Member, Fremont
  • Bill Harrison, City Council Member, Fremont
  • Maria “Sucy” Collazo, City Council Member, Newark
  • Emily Duncan, City Council Member, Union City

“We are excited to have so many community leaders participate in this year’s Mayors for Meals Day,” said Mary Anderson, Executive Director, LIFE ElderCare. “Their support reflects a commitment to building a caring and sharing community that promotes healthy aging.” Last year, LIFE ElderCare served over 102,000 meals to Tri-City seniors with the help of volunteer drivers who donated close to 15,000 hours to make sure no senior goes hungry.

Mayors For Meals Day is a component of March For Meals, a national campaign, initiated by the Meals On Wheels Association of America that utilizes the involvement of local Mayors and other local elected officials to raise awareness of senior hunger. Senior nutrition programs across the United States, like LIFE ElderCare, promote Mayors for Meals Day in their local communities through public events, partnerships with local businesses, volunteer recruitment and fundraising initiatives.

Filed Under: Meals on Wheels, Senior Meals & Nutrition, Volunteer Opportunities Tagged With: , , , , , ,

80-year-old community activist signs up for Meals On Wheels

January 17, 2012 by

Clara, a long-time community activist, heard her daughter say to her recently,“You volunteer to help others, but you never ask for help yourself.” It got her thinking about how she might utilize the resources available at LIFE ElderCare to help her with some of her daily activities. At age 80, she now has to use a walker to get around and can no longer stand at the stove to make meals.

While her daughter, who she lives with, does grocery shopping, she was finding it hard to get a hot, nutritious mid-day meal. The Meals On Wheels program was the perfect solution. “I have been on the program for a little over a year now and I really enjoy the meals,” she says, “and, as a former registered nurse I know how important good nutrition is to my health.”

When she was younger Clara enjoyed gymnastics and was always physically active. Health problems required to her to take early retirement but she supplemented her income for many years with a small in-home business. After her retirement she moved in with her daughter to help raise her teen-aged grandchildren.

She stays proactive about her health and has three doctors who are concerned and helpful. “I think the community services in the Tri-City area are very good,” she says, “I have access to all kind of services and especially enjoy the caring, Meals On Wheels volunteers who sometimes bring their small children along to visit with me.”

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Having someone to help means Tri-City residents in their 80′s and 90′s can maintain their independence.

January 9, 2012 by

Virginia, 86, was widowed in 1993 and has lived in her Fremont home for 43 years. She currently lives alone. Her five children live out of the area, the two closest in Marin County. She maintains her independence by taking advantage of three LIFE ElderCare programs: VIP Rides, Friendly Visitors, and Meals On Wheels.

After reading about the organization in the newspaper, she mentioned it to her daughter who lives in Denver. Her daughter called Bernie Thien, Friendly Visitors Coordinator to get more information on how her mom could sign up. Bernie delighted Virginia by matching her up with a Friendly Visitor from her home state of Rhode Island. The two have been meeting every Friday for the past year to take short walks, play Scrabble and enjoy each other’s company.

She uses VIP Rides for grocery shopping and started receiving Meals On Wheels last March after coming out of a rehabilitation center for a fractured vertebrae. Her back problem makes it hard to stand long enough to cook meals or to buy groceries without assistance.

“I highly recommend LIFE ElderCare and often suggest it to people in my arthritis support group at Washington Hospital. Without the services that are available in my community I would probably be forced to sell my home and move into a much more expensive nursing home or assisted living facility.”

For fun, Virginia is part of a birdwatching group and has bird feeders in her backyard, and she watches movies on Netflix. “Politics are dismaying and depressing,” she says, “and I worry about my children not being able to afford health coverage if cuts are made to Medicare.”

Filed Under: Meals on Wheels, Senior Transportation Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Volunteers have the magic touch

December 19, 2011 by


LIFE ElderCare’s Annual Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon drew an enthusiastic crowd of 275 people to the Newark Hilton on December 7 for an elegant meal and entertainment by local magician, Ryan Adler. This year’s theme, “Volunteers Have the Magic Touch,” celebrated the efforts of 574 volunteers who, along with 318 nursing students from Unitek College and Cal State East Bay, donated close to 42,000 hours last year towards helping frail, at-risk seniors in the Tri-City area stay healthy and maintain their independence.

Mary M. Anderson, Executive Director of LIFE ElderCare, welcomed the guests by saying, “Within each of us is a powerful design for living. Every day that you volunteer, your own special magic makes life better on behalf of our community’s seniors.” Janice Futch-Claridge, event sponsor, added, “This is a special time of the year but you are special all year long.”

This year’s recipient of the organization’s Friend for LIFE Award was outgoing Newark mayor, David Smith. Smith accepted the award on behalf of the volunteers by saying, “Through your dedicated service to the community, all of you are MY friends for life. On my last official day of being Mayor, I couldn’t be spending it with a finer group of people.“

Smith moved some people in the room to tears with a heartfelt story about how sharing a candy bar with a classmate when he was in the third grade was remembered more than 30 years later at a high school reunion. “You never know how much you are impacting someone’s life,” he said, “with a just a simple act of kindness.”

One of the guests, Paul Ray Andrus, has been giving rides to homebound seniors through the VIP Rides program for the past two years. “I like the flexibility of being able to volunteer when I have a break or some free time during the week,” he said. Dori Alexander started delivering meals through the Meals On Wheels program three months ago. After she retired, she knew this was what she wanted to do. “When I see people on my route I feel so happy,” she said, “and if they have time to talk, I enjoy visiting with them.”

According to a recent article in the AARP Bulletin, the value of one volunteer hour in California is $23.42. When you add it up, this represents a $900,000 in-kind investment by LIFE ElderCare volunteers. If you would like to join them in building an aging-friendly community, and make some heart-friendly connections along the way, please sign up today.

Filed Under: Meals on Wheels, Volunteer Opportunities Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

For many Tri-City seniors, this holiday is not a holiday from hunger.

December 5, 2011 by

Every day, through no fault of their own, older adults are faced with heartbreaking choices. And the harsh reality is that many are forced to decide between medications and food on the table. Or heating their home and paying their mortgage. Throughout this holiday season, we expect to deliver 15,750 meals to homebound Tri City seniors who otherwise would not have any food.

We cannot do it alone. Your financial contribution will sponsor a senior’s meals and reflect that they are not forgotten. You will make the difference between hope and hopelessness. Or in the words of one our seniors, “My Meals On Wheels volunteers bring food for my soul and hope for my journey!”

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Annual Wheels for Meals Bike Ride raised $100,000

October 31, 2011 by


A great time was had by all who attended the third Annual Wheels for Meals Bike Ride in Livermore, CA on October 22. The ride drew 762 riders who enjoyed a beautiful day and great food. LIFE ElderCare assisted during the ride by staffing a booth along the way where participants could stop for refreshments. The booth theme was patriotism and Barb Proctor (as Abe Lincoln), Paul Emge (as Obama) and Barbara Emge (as Betsy Ross), donned costumes for the occasion. The ride included three routes, covering 81 miles in three counties. “I got a real kick out of seeing so many families making the ride together,” said Proctor, “everybody really enjoyed themselves.”

Filed Under: Meals on Wheels

Fun-Raiser at Sweet Tomatoes, March 9, 2011 from 5-8 pm.

March 4, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Please join members of the staff and Board of LIFE ElderCare at Sweet Tomatoes restaurant for our Fun-Raiser. This is our first partnership with a local restaurant to raise money and we need your participation to make it a success. 15% of the cost of your meal will be donated to LIFE ElderCare. Invite friends, family, friends-of-friends—everyone you know who likes to eat fresh, wholesome food.

*** NOTE: (You must present the Sweet Tomatoes Donation Form when you pay for your meal. Be sure to download this form and bring it with you).

Sweet Tomatoes is located at: 39370 Paseo Padre Pkwy (corner of Paseo Padre and Walnut Avenue) in Fremont. For directions to the restaurant visit: sweettomatoes.com

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