KleinLife, located at 10100 Jamison Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia, has received a $10,000 COVID-19 Response Grant from the Truist Foundation through Meals on Wheels America in Arlington, Virginia.
The funds will be used to purchase additional resources for the Home Delivered Meals Program, which KleinLife runs in coordination with RSVP Philadelphia. The program provides 70,000 meals annually to homebound seniors in Bucks, Philadelphia and Montgomery counties who cannot shop or cook for themselves.
Since the center ceased its daily operation for seniors in March, which included its congregant meals program, due to COVID-19, it has experienced a substantial increase in demand for home delivered meals.
“Since the start of the pandemic, we have added hundreds of area seniors to our Home Delivered Meals Program,” said Andre Krug, president and CEO of KleinLife. “We are most grateful and truly appreciative of this generous donation from Meals on Wheels America to help continue to fund our vital food program needed by our seniors.”
“Thanks to a generous gift from the Truist Foundation, we are pleased to offer emergency grants of up to $10,000 to Meals on Wheels America members operating in 400-plus select counties across 17 states,” said Lucy Theilheimer, chief strategy and impact officer for Meals on Wheels America. “The donation from the Truist Foundation will provide ‘stop-gap’ emergency grants to members in those areas who are working tirelessly to secure additional food and supplies and adapt to new procedures and delivery methods, all while experiencing a rapid increase in demand for services.”
Meals on Wheels America has distributed $18.3 million in emergency funding to local senior nutrition providers actively responding to the evolving COVID-19 crisis across the country.
“With millions of Americans being urged to remain at home, we are experiencing a new wave of homebound seniors who may not know from where their next meal will come,” said Ellie Hollander, president and CEO of Meals on Wheels America. “Local Meals on Wheels programs are uniquely positioned to reach these at-risk individuals and are working tirelessly to adapt to the rapidly evolving situation, delivering meals safely and responding to an unprecedented increase in need.”
For more information, contact KleinLife at kleinlife.org or 215-698-7300.
