One of my favorite events each year is our March for Meals, St. Patrick’s 5K Run/ Walk to benefit our community Meals on Wheels program.
The annual fundraiser held on March 15at Kissimmee Lakefront Park, had nearly 700 participants—our largest event ever! Runners, walkers, children, adults, and seniors of all ages came out to support our ever-growing Meals on Wheels nutrition program, which helps mitigate senior hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition amongst the elderly within our community.
In its 20th year, the 5K Run/Walk featured awards for male and female top finishers, and prizes for “most spirited team,” earned this year by HCA Osceola and Poinciana Hospitals. The Osceola County Health Department received the “largest team” award, while the Osceola County Tax Collectors Office won the “Beverly Hougland Award” for their years of expansive support to the Osceola Council on Aging. A big thank you to Jacob Davis of Southern Timing for helping our team make March for Meals such a tremendous success for the community!
In the weeks leading up to the event, the OCOA introduced a vehicle raffle to be drawn on the day of the event: a Ford Mustang Mach-E, a Tesla Model Y or $30,000 were up for grabs. Out of a total of 2,000 opportunities, the winning ticket was held by Thomas L. from California, who chose the Tesla. We also thank everyone who made this raffle a success!
The following day, we kicked off Meals on Wheels Community Champions Week to celebrate the impact Meals on Wheels America has made on more than 5,000 communities across the U.S. This celebratory week marks the anniversary of the establishment of the Older Americans Act Nutrition Program which began on March 22, 1972, and laid the foundation for the Meals on Wheels network, which now, collectively, serves more than two million seniors each year.
Also, during Community Champions Week, Meals on Wheels America invited Members of Congress, state and local officials, and prominent community influencers and celebrities to engage directly with local MOW providers through visits and delivery of meals, to better experience the life-changing impact of these essential services. In Osceola County, we follow that national lead and invite local officials and community leaders to join our workers and volunteers while in ‘action,’ to learn firsthand about the program and the impact MOW has on our community.
Olga Gonzalez, Founder and CEO of Church and Community Assistance Program and former Mayor of Kissimmee, collaborated with our volunteers to deliver meals.
“Delivering Meals on Wheels is always such a rewarding experience. As a senior myself, I understand the challenges residents face,” she said. “Being a part of Community Champions for more than a decade has been a joy. I cherish the time I spend connecting with those MOW clients.”
Community Champions Week honors providers, employees, and volunteers nationwide who dedicate their time to making sure the appropriate meals are delivered timely, and consistently, to those who need them. We thank those hundreds of thousands of individuals across our nation who have worked together, tirelessly, for more than 50 years to make this program a success, including our own MOW volunteers, and supporters, in Osceola County. Further, I want to thank all 5K Run/Walk participants who came out on that chilly Saturday morning, last month to support March for Meals.
For more information on Meals on Wheels America, go to www.mealsonwheelamerica.org. For more information on the OCOA’s efforts of MOW locally, go to www.osceolagenerations.org.
