Subaru "Share the Love" for Meals on Wheels

Peninsula Volunteers “Meals on Wheels” Awarded $750 “Share The Love” Most Meals Grant

from Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA) 

Subaru’s “Share The Love” Event helps deliver nutritious meals and compassion to San Mateo County’s elderly

Menlo Park, CA (February 15, 2012) – Peninsula Volunteers “Meals on Wheels” program is proud to announce it has been awarded a $750 grant from Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA) in recognition of its participation in MOWAA’s “Share The Love” Most Meals Contest. As part of Subaru of America, Inc.’s “Share The Love” Event, Peninsula Volunteers “Meals on Wheels”  worked with Carlsen Subaru during the holiday season to deliver warm blankets to low-income homebound seniors and disabled adults who receive Meals on Wheels daily lunches.

“Carlsen Subaru’s Manager, Todd Parkinson, was literally a driver for blanket deliveries,” said Bart Charlow, Executive Director of Peninsula Volunteers, Inc.  “Subaru supplied the car and worked with us, County Supervisor Don Horsley and NBC Bay Area to bring the gift of warmth, live on TV, to some of our long time meals recipients. When people can put a face to the service, they truly understand that Meals on Wheels is a life giver and often even a life saver!”

As one of the five Subaru “Share The Love” Event charitable partners, MOWAA created the Most Meals Contest to foster partnerships between local Meals On Wheels programs and Subaru dealerships. MOWAA is awarding $150,000 in Most Meals grants to the 48 Meals On Wheels programs across the country that recruited dealership employees to volunteer, deliver meals in Subaru vehicles and engage community members in the fight to end senior hunger.

Most Meals grants awarded by MOWAA range from $250 to $35,000.  The nation’s economic downturn has made it more difficult to raise money to provide meals to the community’s homebound seniors.  Peninsula Volunteers “Meals on Wheels” will use the money to help fund the increasing cost of gasoline to deliver over 80,000 meals to 8 cities in San Mateo County each year.  

The Subaru “Share The Love” Event ran from November 19, 2011 to January 3, 2012.   Subaru is donating $250 for every new Subaru vehicle sold or leased during “Share The Love” to the customer's choice of one of five charities, including MOWAA. Over the past three years, proceeds from the Subaru “Share The Love” Event have provided funds to MOWAA to support its vision to end senior hunger by 2020. 

"We are honored to be part of ‘Share The Love’ again this year," said MOWAA President and CEO, Enid Borden.  "Subaru is a corporation with a conscience. They understand that providing nutritious meals to hungry and homebound seniors in need is a moral imperative."

About Peninsula Volunteers

Peninsula Volunteers, Inc. is a pioneer in senior services and was the first volunteer organization to receive a HUD grant to develop and build low-income senior housing in the United States.  For 64 years, Peninsula Volunteers, Inc., has created and provided high quality and nurturing programs for the aging in South San Mateo County, which have allowed seniors to pursue long, healthy and useful lives.  Each year, Peninsula Volunteers, Inc. delivers over $5 million in services, including over 150,000 hot meals to seniors and the homebound and senior centers, and touches over 4,500 households through its programs: Meals on Wheels; Little House, The Roslyn G. Morris Activity Center; Rosener House Adult Day Services; and Peninsula Volunteer Properties, Inc.  The latter provides 82% of the affordable senior housing in Menlo Park at Crane Place and Partridge/Kennedy Apartments. For more information, visit: www.peninsulavolunteers.org.

About Meals On Wheels Association of America

The Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA) is the oldest and largest national organization in the United States representing those programs that provide meals to people in need.  MOWAA’s mission is to end senior hunger by 2020.  To obtain more information about MOWAA or to locate a local Meals On Wheels program, visit the MOWAA website at www.mowaa.org.