COLUMBUS – LifeCare Alliance, the Midwest’s leading provider of Meals-on-Wheels, received a $2,500 grant from Meals on Wheels America to support its client pet support program. Funding will be used to provide food, supplies and care for the pets of area clients, which can often be a financial and physical challenge for clients to do on their own.
“Our clients’ pets are more than companions,” said Chuck Gehring, president and CEO of LifeCare Alliance. “Their pets are their family members, counselors and the security systems. Our clients live on $1,000 or less per month and have a companion pet. Most of our clients would rather feed their pets than to eat themselves. We are so thankful to Meals on Wheels America for the grant, which allows our clients to provide a nourishing meal to their pets and to remain independent in their own homes, which is where 100 percent of them want to be.”
In total, Meals on Wheels America has granted over $200,000 to nearly 100 local Meals on Wheels programs through the Meals on Wheels Loves Pets initiative this year. Funding is made possible in part through a donation from the former Banfield Charitable Trust. To date, the grant program has distributed more than $2.4 million in funding and pet food donations.
“While pets are invaluable companions to homebound seniors, positively impacting their health and well-being, they can also be a challenge to care for alone,” said Meals on Wheels America President and CEO Ellie Hollander. “The Meals on Wheels Loves Pets program enables LifeCare Alliance to provide pet food and other necessary services to ease some of that burden and make it possible for local seniors and their beloved pets to stay together.”
The LifeCare Alliance Senior PetCare Programs provides clients assistance in caring for their pets while maintaining the clients’ ability to remain in their own homes. The program assists with pet care and veterinary visits and implements AniMeals routes, which deliver pet food and supplies directly to clients’ homes through coordinated routes similar to Meals-on-Wheels. In 2017, the program provided food, supplies, and veterinary visits to 445 clients and 511 pets.
If interested in volunteering to deliver pet food to homebound clients or other volunteer opportunity associated with LifeCare Alliance, visit the website at www.lifecarealliance.org or call 614-444- MEAL
