LOA News

& Notes

March 2024

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Helping Older Persons Remain Independent for as Long as Possible.

You are cordially invited to LOA's 2024 Annual Meeting on March 21st:

Soup for Seniors: Thank you for giving a senior a Hot Meal on a Cold Day

Thank you to everyone who donated canned goods to Soup for Seniors! Our annual canned food drive was a great success, with 49,271 pounds of food donated. Thanks to the tireless efforts of dozens of volunteers, the cans were inspected, packed into bags, and delivered to 2,882 of our senior neighbors. This represents an increase of 4,000 pounds over last year, which allowed us to serve 132 more seniors!

Thank you to our wonderful partner AARP Virginia, which supplies a large contingent of volunteers each year, media sponsor WFJX 910 AM & 104.3 FM, the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, for graciously hosting us as our main collection site for many weeks, Sam’s Club, for lending us shopping carts to help us process donations, and Security Scale, for donating a scale for us to weigh all that soup. The Roanoke County Sheriff’s Office was also a big help this year, picking up loads of soup from county schools, and making deliveries. Additionally, we could not have accomplished this without the support of our drop-off site locations: First Bank, Vistar Eye Center, Black Dog Salvage, APRIA Healthcare, Evergreen Burial Park, Mountain View Cemetery, Salem Public Library, South County Library, and Vinton Library.

Seniors, enjoy a family-friendly springtime party at LOA!

Thursday, March 28, 2024

4:30 pm - 6:30 pm

At LOA's Center for Health & Wellness

4902 Frontage Road NW, Roanoke, VA 24019

RSVP by March 21 to Jason Brooks at (540) 345-0451 or by clicking the button below. This special event is made possible thanks to generous grants from the Louise R. Lester Foundation and Meals on Wheels America.

RSVP for March 28 Senior Social

A Matter of Balance falls prevention class starts in April

FREE class to increase balance, flexibility, and strength in older adults!

A Matter of Balance

Wednesdays

9:00 AM - 11:00 AM

April 24 – June 12, 2024

Classes are held once a week for 8 weeks, for 2 hours each.

At LOA’s Center for Health & Wellness, 4902 Frontage Rd, NW, Roanoke, VA 24019

Who should attend? Anyone concerned about falls; anyone interested in improving balance, flexibility, and strength; anyone who has fallen in the past; anyone who has restricted activities because of falling concerns.

To register or for more information, please contact Delaine Caldwell at (540) 345-0451 extension 3041 or click the button below.

Contact Delaine about falls prevention classes

Free Flu and COVID Vaccines at LOA

Friday, April 19, 10am-12pm

4932 Frontage Rd NW, Roanoke, VA 24019

Come to LOA's main office parking lot for a free vaccination clinic, offered in partnership with New Horizons Healthcare! Food truck from Dale's Diner will be there, available for you to purchase Kenny burgers and more! Questions about the vaccination clinic, please contact Robbie Boyd: (540) 345-0451.

Bob Habermann, Grants Committee Chair of the Kiwanis Club of Roanoke, presenting the grant to Ron Boyd.

Thanks to Kiwanis Club of Roanoke

One of the most dedicated groups that supports LOA's Meals on Wheels program is the Kiwanis Club of Roanoke Virginia. Recently, LOA President & CEO Ron Boyd attended a Kiwanis meeting to accept a generous $9,000 grant for Meals on Wheels! In addition to this important financial support, many Roanoke Kiwanis volunteer their time and “sweat equity” as drivers for Meals on Wheels. We are appreciative of the support of the Kiwanis Club and the impact they help make on the lives of Roanoke area homebound seniors.

Volunteer Spotlight: AARP Virginia

LOA has been so fortunate to have AARP Virginia as a longstanding partner in many of our programs and events. In addition to sponsoring Soup for Seniors and providing the sturdy tote bags for the soup, many AARP Virginia members have been hard-working volunteers for Soup for Seniors ever since the beginning of the annual canned food drive. Dozens of AARP members roll up their sleeves and spend many hours inspecting cans, packing bags, and delivering bags to seniors. Many thanks to AARP Virginia's State Director, Jim Dau, Associate State Director Brian Jacks, and Joyce E. Williams AARP Virginia State President, for their leadership and ongoing support of Soup for Seniors. We couldn't do it without AARP Virginia!

Gifts and Grants update

Recently the LOA was excited to be awarded generous grants and gifts from the following:

Beta Sigma Phi Sorority Delta Master Chapter
Keith Kellogg Hunt
Victoria Keenum
Vinton Moose Family Center #1121

Thank you to everyone who made a gift or donated items to LOA recently!

> Donate items to the emergency food pantry/toiletries

An astonishing 1,318 cans were collected by students at Virginia Heights Elementary School for Soup for Seniors! This generous contribution will help to serve meals to hundreds of seniors in our community.

LOA in the community

LOA will have a presence at the March 16th Black Family Wellness Expo at Pilgrim Baptist Church and the March 26th Senior Services Expo at the Vinton War Memorial! We'll be sharing information about LOA's services and resources for older adults in our community. Click on the images below to learn more about each event.

March for Meals and #SaveLunch

The national #SaveLunch campaign for Meals on Wheels (formerly known as March for Meals) is happening now throughout the month of March! LOA is joining Meals on Wheels America to rally support for this vital service that provides millions of seniors with essential services to help them remain healthier and independent at home.

National #SaveLunch efforts in March commemorate the historic day in March of 1972 when the Older Americans Act was amended to include a nutrition program for Americans 60 years and older. More than 50 years later, 12 million older Americans are still threatened by or experience hunger, and one in three seniors feels lonely. That is why we're joining forces with programs across the country to raise awareness and support to ensure we can continue to address food insecurity and malnutrition, combat social isolation, enable independence, and improve health for decades to come.

Follow LOA on our social media platforms for #SaveLunch updates and information all month long!