MOWNEWSLETTER May 2015_Layout 1 5/1/15 4:45 PM Page 1
Meals on Wheels Celebrates 5th Anniversary with Paella Party
Close to 100 supporters gathered late last month to celebrate Meals on Wheels of the Palm Beaches’ Fifth anniversary during
a Paella Party hosted by Board Member Phillis Jones and her husband Casey. With financial support provided by Board Vice
Chair Susan Kirkpatrick and her husband Michael, the celebration featured an outstanding meal created by Chef Luis, also
known as “The Paella Man.” “This was a beautiful event at a beautiful home,” said Executive Director Charlie Ring.
“Special thanks goes to Phillis and Casey and Susan and Michael as well as all who attended for their continued support.”
Photos by David Scarola
Rochelle and Steve Cohen
Sabra Kirkpatrick, Mike Kirkpatrick, Susan
Kirkpatrick, Kelly Platt, Gene Platt
Catherine and Rev. Ron Hilliard
Greg and Michele Aslanian
Meals on Wheels of the Palm Beaches’ board members
Charlie Ring (center) with Chef Luis (left)
and assistant
Pie It Forward Coming this Fall
If you like pie, you’re going to love Pie It Forward, coming
this fall.
A fund-raising effort for Meals on Wheels of the Palm
Beaches, Pie It Forward brings together the efforts of more than
30 local chefs who will all bake Thanksgiving
pies. The pies will then be sold to supporters
of Meals on Wheels, to local businesses and
to members of the community.
“These will be absolutely extraordinary
pies,” says Charlie Ring, Meals on Wheels Executive Director. “We’ll be working with some
of the area’s best restaurants and chefs, who
are all donating their time.”
Pies can be ordered from early October through mid-November and will be available for pick up the Wednesday before
TM
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mowpb.org
Thanksgiving at distribution centers throughout the area.
Each pie will sell for $25.
“Our goal is to sell between 2,000 and 3,000 pies this year,”
Ring said.
Modeled after a similar program benefiting
the Meals on Wheels program in the Boston
area, Pie It Forward is designed to raise money
for meals for homebound seniors and also to
raise awareness of the problem of senior
hunger in Palm Beach County.
In addition to raising money through the
sale of the pies, Meals on Wheels will also be
offering sponsorship packages. To find out
more about how you can support Pie It Forward, call the office
at (561) 802-6979.
MOWNEWSLETTER May 2015_Layout 1 5/1/15 4:45 PM Page 2
Meals On Wheels of the Palm Beaches, Inc.
P.O. Box 247 West Palm Beach, FL 33402
Volunteer Voices
Volunteers Deliver More Than Just a Meal
Teri Abrams, delivering meals in Lake Worth has changed her
thoughts about Mondays. James and Sandy Gay have discovered
there is joy in helping seniors in our community.
Here are their stories, in their own words.
Teri Abrams
Monday has never been my favorite day until now. Imagine beginning
your day with 10 smiling faces and a feeling of total appreciation.
Meals on Wheels of the Palm Beaches has done this for me.
All the clients on my route are special to me, but Lillian holds a
very special place in my heart. She lives on the second floor of a
multi-story building. The elevator is slow and sometimes not working too well, so I often take the stairs. Lillian’s cheerful smile greets
me as she invites me into her home. We inquire about each others
weekend and she always asks about my 91-year-old-mother.
Lillian enriches my life, as do all the clients on my Monday route.
I am very appreciative of all 10 smiles and very thankful that Lillian
does not live on the 10th floor.
James and Sandy Gay
Want to put a WOW factor in
your life?
Come join the Meals On Wheels
volunteer team.
When asked what our strengths
were, we simply said we have a desire to help people and leave them
with a smile on their faces.
One evening over dinner Sandy
Teri Abrams
asked me what I thought about joining the MOW volunteer
team. We discussed it in great length, and decided to make the call
and have never looked back.
We quickly found out that it isn’t just a food delivery service to
homebound seniors. Many clients are doing very well health wise
and just need a nutritious daily meal. Others, of course, need a little
more attention.
Sandy and I have so many wonderful memories that it would take
several pages to share them all.
When friends ask why we volunteer for Meals on Wheels, we always
give them the same answer, “Come spend just one day with us and
if you don’t get it, then it’s not for you.”
We are betting you will become a volunteer in some capacity.
We know that MOW stands for Meals on Wheels but we like to refer
to it as “Move Over World” we are coming to an area near you soon!
When clients thank us we simply say, “We are the thankful ones
because we’re able to serve you.”
That is the real joy and happiness of doing what we do.
We were also lucky enough to
reunite with several old school
friends dating back to junior
high school, how cool is that?
So what are you waiting for?
Get on board and make a
difference in your life as well as
someone else’s.
James and Sandy Gay
WELCOME NEW VOLUNTEERS!
Kauser Ahmed
Zareen Alikhan
Sandy Aquino
Eliot Bosinger
Sandy Bosinger
Anauta Capers
Karen Cochrane
Allan Dessin
Barbara Harper
Tom Harper
Oct. 1 – March 31
John Schultz
Janice Marie
Anne Ryan
Jayme Selman
James McCauley
Scott Sanborn
Cynthia Thomas
Judi McCauley
Pat Schultz
Cathie Nash Ron Fick Jr.
Jeannie Rojas
facebook.com/mealsonwheelspbc
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MOWNEWSLETTER May 2015_Layout 1 5/1/15 4:45 PM Page 3
SPRING 201 5
ISSUE 3 / VOLUME 1
SISTERS BENEFIT FROM
MEALS ON WHEELS
One of six girls in her family, Nora Skelly Consigli was
always close to her sisters.
“Because we were six girls, we always looked out for one
another,” says Nora, who along with her family grew up in
the Chelsea section of New York’s Manhattan. “We were
always close.”
Although they went separate ways – finding careers and
getting married – they continued to remain close.
So it wasn’t surprising that when Nora’s sister Dorothy
decided to move to Florida, Nora helped her find an
apartment, just a few doors down from her own in West
Palm Beach’s Century Village.
Now both are receiving Meals on Wheels.
For Nora, Meals on Wheels goes beyond making life
easier. It also provides peace of mind and the nutritious
meal that many seniors don’t get either because of health
or mobility issues.
“If it weren’t for Meals on Wheels, I would be eating very
sparsely,” she says.
At 84, four years older than Dorothy, Nora has always
been an independent woman with a career in the bookkeeping and accounting fields that spanned 30 years.
Although she’s still able to drive and get around, Nora
has been slowed down by heart issues. She’s been through
open-heart surgery and wears a pacemaker.
Having to go shopping and prepare meals, she says,
would be a challenge.
“It would be too much of a strain on my heart,” she says.
For Dorothy, who is now in a wheel chair, preparing meals
would be even more of a challenge.
That’s why Meals on Wheels is so important. It’s also
important because, thanks to the program, both Nora and
Dorothy know there is someone else coming to check on
them five days a week.
“No one wants to think about
falling and laying there for three or
four days without anyone knowing
about it,” Nora said. “It’s good to
know Meals on Wheels is there.”
Although many years have
passed, Nora says she’s still able to
look out for her younger sister –
thanks in part to Meals on Wheels.
“Because she has Meals on
Wheels, I know that she has a nourishing meal,” Nora says.
GREAT GIVE
Makes Donating to
Meals on Wheels Easy
Want to make a donation to help
combat senior hunger in Palm
Beach County?
Now, showing your support for
the efforts of Meals on Wheels of
the Palm Beaches to help homebound seniors have a healthy meal
is easy, thanks to the Great Give
Palm Beach County.
A 24-hour online giving event
that begins at 5 p.m. on Tuesday
May 5 and ends at 5 p.m. May 6,
the Great Give is designed to help
non-profits like Meals on Wheels
of the Palm Beaches collect donations electronically in a single day.
To contribute, all you’ll need to
do is go to the Great Give website
and put in a credit card number
and some contact information.
Before you know it, you’re done.
“With the Great Give you can
even make your contribution in
Meals on Wheels client Joan Gerth
your pajamas and you can do it
with Great Give logo
any time of day or night,” says
Alyson Davidson, Meals on Wheels board chair, who is leading this year’s
effort to reach a goal of $10,000 through the program. “In less than a
minute you can make a donation and you can save a stamp.”
To make it even easier for anyone with access to a computer, Meals on
Wheels has created a link on its website to take you directly to the donation
page. Just go to www.mowpb.org and click on the Great Give logo.
This year Davidson and the team at Meals on Wheels wanted to add a little
levity to the effort, so they’ve come up with the Share a Meal/Win a Meal selfie
contest. The person who submits the most creative selfie of themselves with
a favorite meal or their favorite wheels can win a $150 gift card to Table 26
in West Palm Beach. A $10 donation is requested.
“The contest is designed to have fun and to add a social media element to
our fundraising effort,” Davidson said.
To find out more, either check your mailbox for a recently mailed card
outlining the contest or visit www.mowpb.org and click on the Great Give logo.
While fun is a big part of this year’s Great Give effort, Davidson says there’s
also a serious side to the effort.
“Great Give is an opportunity to make more people aware of the fight against
senior hunger in Palm Beach County,” she said. “It also makes it easier for
current and prospective donors to show their support.”
Nora Skelly Consigli
561.802.6979 • P.O. Box 247 West Palm Beach, FL 33402
mowpb.org • facebook.com/mealsonwheelspbc
MOWNEWSLETTER May 2015_Layout 1 5/1/15 4:45 PM Page 4
A MESSAGE FROM
CHARLIE RING
Dear Friends,
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
All of us know intuitively that Meals on Wheels programs such as
ours have a very positive impact on the homebound seniors we serve
as well as on their families.
We know that the meals we provide five days a week help keep our
clients healthy. We also know that the home visits our volunteers
make provide our seniors with a personal connection and offer their
families peace of mind.
Now, thanks to the “More Than a Meal” study commissioned
by Meals on Wheels America and funded by AARP, we have data
that shows that what we here at Meals on Wheels of the Palm
Beaches are doing is making a clear and powerful impact on the
lives we serve.
Across the county, many Meals on Wheels programs have moved
to delivering frozen meals to their clients once a week, in part to
save money and also because of a lack of volunteers.
Thanks to the financial support we receive from our community
and the incredible commitment of our volunteers, we have been able
to continue delivering hot nutritious meals on a daily basis.
In the study, researchers from Brown University’s Center for
Gerontology and Healthcare Research found that our determination
to deliver daily meals rather than weekly frozen meals is significantly
more beneficial than other delivery methods.
“The More Than a Meal study supports the wealth of past research,
indicating that home-delivered meals improve the health and wellbeing of older adults, particularly those who receive daily-delivered
meals and those who live alone,” the study of more than 625
seniors concluded.
Among the study’s findings were:
• Those who receive daily delivered meals experience the greatest
improvements in health and quality of life.
• Those receiving daily meals reported greater benefits from their
home-delivered meal experience compared to the group receiving
frozen meals.
• Those who lived alone and received daily delivered meals
were more likely to report decreases in worry about being able to
remain in their home and improvements in feelings of isolation
and loneliness.
The researchers who conducted the study found that daily homedelivered meals and social contact for homebound older adults have
long-term benefits.
All of us here at Meals on Wheels of the Palm Beaches want to
make sure you each know how much everything that you do helps
our seniors and our community as a whole.
On behalf of those seniors and all of us, thanks so much!
Pam Calzadilla Joins Meals on Wheels as Chief Operating Officer
The board of directors of Meals on Wheels of the Palm Beaches and
Executive Director Charlie Ring are pleased to announce that
Pam Calzadilla has joined the staff as Chief Operating Officer.
In her new role, Pam will be providing leadership and
also help with community engagement and fundraising.
“I whole-heartedly believe in the mission of Meals on
Wheels of the Palm Beaches and believe I can help the
organization continue to grow – while at the same time,
help to increase awareness in the community,” she said. “A
focus will be on continuing the board’s and Charlie’s vision
and success.”
Pam brings a wide range of experience to her new position, having
served on the staffs of several South Florida non-profit organizations for
more than two decades. Prior to joining Meals on Wheels of the Palm
Beaches, Pam was Director of Development for the Unicorn
Children’s Foundation in Boca Raton. She has also held
development positions with the Florence Fuller Child
Development Centers, the American Heart Association,
American Diabetes Association and the American Cancer Society.
A resident of West Palm Beach, Pam is also actively
involved in the community, volunteering with several non-profit
organizations.
“We’re very pleased to have Pam joining our team,” Charlie
said. “She brings 20 years of exemplary service in the non-profit arena,
both on the development and operational side, that greatly benefits our
organization.”
Meals on Wheels of the Palm Beaches Announces New Officers
Meals on Wheels of the Palm Beaches is pleased to announce that
Alyson Davidson has been elected to chair the board of directors and
Susan Kirkpatrick has been elected vice chair.
Sid Stubbs, the immediate past board chair,
has been elected secretary and Martin Woods,
CPA, remains as the organization’s treasurer.
“We are very grateful to all four of our officers
for their commitment to Meals on Wheels of
the Palm Beaches and for their expertise and
guidance as we continue to expand to serve
Alyson Davidson
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mowpb.org
more homebound seniors in Palm Beach County,” said Executive
Director Charlie Ring.
Alyson, a Palm Beach Gardens resident who
grew up in Palm Beach County, has been a
Meals on Wheels volunteer for several years and
has served as chair of the annual “Hot Wheels .
. . Hot Meals” fund-raising event.
Susan, a Palm Beach County native, is a
Meals on Wheels volunteer, delivering meals to
seniors every week.
Susan Kirkpatrick
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Three Local Mayors Deliver Lunches
In Support of Meals on Wheels’ March for Meals
Three local Palm Beach County mayors joined with Meals on tion,” said Vana, who praised the work done by Meals on Wheels’
Wheels of the Palm Beaches for March for Meals, an annual volunteers. “If everyone did something like this, we would have
national event designed to bring attention to the problem of a more cohesive community.”
senior hunger in America.
Now in its 13th year, March for Meals is a national celebration
Palm Beach County Mayor Shelley Vana, West Palm Beach led by Meals on Wheels America that mobilizes hundreds of local
Mayor Jeri Muoio and Lake Worth Mayor Pam Triolo each spent Meals on Wheels programs across the country to reach out to
a few hours in March delivering meals to homebound Meals on their communities to build the support that will sustain them all
Wheels clients in central Palm Beach County.
year long.
For the mayors, March for Meals was an opportunity to learn
“We’re extremely grateful to our three local mayors for taking
more about the local Meals on
time out of their busy schedWheels program, whose volules to meet a few of our
unteers now make more than
clients and to see first hand
500 home visits a week. It
the need for programs like
was also a chance for them to
Meals on Wheels in our comget to know a few seniors who
munity,” said Executive Direcdepend on the program for a
tor Charlie Ring. “Both our
nutritious noontime meal up
clients and the mayors really
to five days a week.
enjoyed the opportunity to get
West Palm Beach
Palm Beach County Mayor Lake Worth Mayor Pam to meet one another.”
“We brought them lunch
Triolo with Alma McCoy
Mayor Jeri Muoio
Shelley Vana with
and they brought us inspirawith Gloria Reshen
Nada Tauber
Community Shows its Support for “Animeals on Wheels” Program
Soon after word spread that Meals on Wheels of the Palm
Beaches is now providing free pet food to its clients with dogs or
cats, the phone started ringing.
Throughout the community residents responded, offering to
donate money for pet food as well as pet food itself.
“The response has been overwhelming,” said Director of Volunteer
Services Debbie Emerick. “It clearly shows that people in the
community understand the importance of homebound seniors having pets in their home.”
The Animeals program has been funded initially through a $2,500 grant from the Banfield
Charitable Trust – a non-profit arm of Banfield Pet
Hospitals – which supports Meals on Wheels programs across the country.
“Many of our homebound senior clients who
live alone depend on their pets for companionship
but providing food and veterinary care while living
on a limited income can be a challenge,” said Charlie Ring,
executive director of Meals on Wheels of the Palm Beaches.
“Through our new Animeals program we’re able to help relieve
some of the burden on our clients who love and care about their
cats and dogs so deeply.”
The program is continuing to seek community support through
financial contributions and pet food donations to keep it going
strong after initial funding is used. Already Lisa
Gallea, owner of the West Palm Beach pet-supply
store Furry Paws, has agreed to contribute to the
Animeals program.
“Meals on Wheels is about helping seniors stay in
their home and live a high quality of life,” said
Emerick, who learned about the Banfield grant
while at a national Meals on Wheels conference.
“Being able to keep their beloved pets at home with
them is an important part of that quality of life.”
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church Partners With Meals on Wheels
For more than 100 years, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Lake
Worth has been serving its community as well as its congregation.
Two buildings in West Palm Beach that provide
affordable housing for seniors were established by the
church many years ago and in recent years the
congregation has created several new programs to
serve teens and younger children in the community.
For more than a year, the church has also been
supporting Meals on Wheels of the Palm Beaches,
helping to provide volunteers and serving as a dropoff point for meals distributed in Lake Worth neighborhoods.
“St. Andrew’s is committed to being a concerned and active
member of the community and our involvement with Meals on
Wheels is just one more way for that to take place,”
says Father Paul Rasmus, rector of the church.
For Meals on Wheels, the partnership with St.
Andrew’s helps to make it easier to serve the growing
number of Lake Worth clients.
“We’re very grateful to St. Andrew’s and to Father
Paul for helping us as we continue expanding into the
Lake Worth area,” said Charlie Ring, Meals on Wheels
executive director. “The support we’ve received
during the last year has been invaluable.”
Father Paul Rasmus and
Charlie Ring
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Meals on Wheels Receives Bank of America Neighborhood Builder Award
Bank of America has recognized Meals on Wheels of the
Palm Beaches for its dedication to the community, naming
it a recipient of the 2014 Neighborhood Builder Award.
The award, which comes with $200,000 of unrestricted
funding over two years, is given annually
to only 60 non-profit community organizations in the country. In addition to the
grant, award recipients also have the opportunity for their executive director and
an emerging leader to participate in a
strategic leadership development program.
“We are honored and humbled to
have been selected for this award, especially here in Palm Beach County
where there are so many outstanding
non-profit organizations serving those in need,” said Charlie
Ring, Executive Director of Meals on Wheels.
The grant, Ring said, will be used to help fund the program, which relies heavily on financial support from the
community and the efforts of dozens
of volunteers. Meals on Wheels of the
Palm Beaches receives no government
funding.
Created in 2004 in response to
nonprofits expressing a need for unrestricted operations support and
access to leadership training, the
Neighborhood Builders program has
benefited more than 800 organizations
nationwide.
A Special Thanks to Our Supporters! Oct. 1 – March 31
$100,000
Bank of America Foundation
$10,000 to $25,000
The Mary Alice Fortin Foundation
Walter & Adi Blum Foundation
Dreman Foundation
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church
$5,000 to $9,999
C. Kenneth & Laura Baxter Foundation
Chastain Charitable Foundation
Paul & Eileen DiPhillips
John & Nellie Bastien Foundation
Kirkwood Fund
Lost Tree Village Charitable Foundation
Anthony & Barbara Gallea
Christopher Ridder and Susan Moffit
Sidney & Annette Stubbs
The Hazel B. Bundy Memorial Fund
$2,000 to $4,999
Banfield Charitable Trust
Keith & Linda Beaty
RB Fisher Foundation
Casey & Phillis Jones
Sidney Kohl Family Foundation
Jeff Koons
Mike & Susan Kirkpatrick
Richard & Rita Lazzara
Charles & Patricia Ring
Rudy Silc
$500 to $1,999
A Nurses’ Registry Inc.
John Altwater
John & Ginger Bills
Lynwood & Rosalind Bishop
Glen & Beth Blackwood
Broad & Cassel
Fab Brumley
Billy & Barbara Bush
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mowpb.org
Gail & Frank Coniglio
Richard Connaughton
Chris & Judy Cook
Peter Arakas & Karen Kellerman
Jim Cooper
Roy & Alyson Davidson
Mark Denoia
Robert & Debra Dunkin
Vince & Mary Jo Elhilow
Dr. Donovan & Samara Essen
George & Susan Ford
Rhodric & Patsy Hackman
Thomas & Sally Hogarth
Jim & Wanda Jenkins
James Karman
Sylvia Laguna
Chris & Jennifer Lazzara
Phillip LoGrasso
James Love
TJ Marx
Joseph & Peggy Marzilli
Memorial Presbyterian Church
Scott Miller
Dean Morehouse
J McLaughlin
Robert McIntosh
Palm Beach Kennel Club
Sidney & Irene Ritman
John & Anita Scarola
Bill & Patt Sned
James & Lynn Stewart
Ahmad & Cherie Toufanian
Rene Toppe Uelschi
Maury Wolfe
$400 to $199
Richard Aldred
Winnie Azqueta
Dr. & Mrs. Bonvenuto
Timmie Bobo
Jennifer Boddicker
William Boose
David & Mollie Bowers
Holly Breeden
Sheri Britt
Harry & Nancy Bush
Terry Carnes
Theodore Deckert
Sam & Ann Ellington
Page Ferrell
Laurie Fragakis
George & Mary Kremer Foundation
Sally Gibson
Mary Goddard
Michael & Jessica Gruber
Carol Heidt
Mary Jo Higgins
Ronald & Catherine Hilliard
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church Gift Shop
Mike Irwin
Richard & Deanne Irwin
Dr. Richard & Marilyn Jacobs
Roger & Karyn Janssen
Jeanne Janssen
Richard Johnson
Brian & Kelly Kirkpatrick
Winnie Lee
Lev Mullins
Wendy Link
Frank Maguire
William Moore
Scott & Jamie Murray
Neville & Maxine Benjamin
Melinda Obass
Trixanna P. Penner
Carolyn Pittman
Pollack Communications
James & Katie Pressly
Richard & Betsy Ellington
Andrea Ramsey
Kelly P. Ring
Laurie Roloff
Gary & Janet Rosmarin
Steve Rothman
Peter Sachs
Nader Salour
James & Abbie Schwartz
Irving & Muriel Seidman
Carol Sellers
Ben Starling
Jackson & Norma Thatcher
Lauren & Brad Torres
United Way of Long Island
Roberto & Rebecca Vargas
Christopher Vila
Adams & Bonnie Weaver
John & Marion White
Suzy Wiberg
Martin Woods
Beverly Young
Under $100
Jeffrey Alman
Lillian Balek
Brianna Beaty
Thomas & Donna Clark
Debbie Emerick
June Fadden
Tara Grant
Mary Gushee
Richard Hall
Mary Hamori
Jon Levinson
Philip Kellerman
Shepard Melville
Ashley Obrien
William Powers
Gloria Reshen
Mary Romozi
Ann C. Treiber
Cindy Tubbs
United Way of
Palm Beach County
Juliette Norton Willis