2021 Year in Review
As we head into the final hours of 2021, we wanted to reach out one more time and say thank you for all of the financial and moral support you offered us this year. In the long history of Meals on Wheels, this has been without a doubt one of the most astonishing and amazing years the organization has ever seen. In addition to still handling the increased demand brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, we underwent a great deal of growth and change.
In February, we joined forces with Cincinnati Area Senior Services, creating one of the largest local community-based nonprofits in the region. Together, we formed an organization that serves “much more than a meal” to area seniors by giving them a single location to find the services they need to live with the freedom and dignity they deserve.- Also in February, we reopened our Over-the-Rhine Senior Center, giving our seniors a place to eat and socialize after being socially isolated for more than a year because of the pandemic.
- In April, we received a $100,000 grant from the L&L Nippert Charitable Foundation for the purchase of new kitchen equipment to help us meet our increased need.
- In September, we opened a satellite office in Northern Kentucky to better meet the growing needs of our seniors in that region. We provide services in eight Northern Kentucky counties.
- In September, we held our inaugural Pie-K 5K run/walk as a kickoff to our Bust a Crust! fundraiser. More than 400 people attended the event.
- In November, we helped make Thanksgiving festive by selling more than 3,000 pies during our second annual Bust a Crust! event. Proceeds from the sale of the pies generated more than $170,000 for our mission, and provided hot meals and other services for more than 7,000 seniors over the holiday season.
In December, we held our Be a Santa to a Senior event in which gifts were purchased by community members for more than 125 seniors around the region. If not for the program, many of the seniors would not have received a holiday present.- Also in December, we stepped up to help our Western Kentucky neighbors who were devastated by tornadoes by packing 1,000 shelf-stable food boxes that will be shipped to the region in early January with the help of TQL’s Moves That Matter.
It was, to say the least, a busy – but rewarding – year. None of it, though, would have been possible without you. And for that we are eternally thankful. Please have a safe and Happy New Year. Let’s do it again in 2022.