Senior Services of Alexandria has been seriously impacted by the pandemic, and two new initiatives will help the nonprofit in its mission to help deliver meals and services to the city’s older residents.
The annual Senior Services gala was canceled, leaving a $135,000 hole. Consequently, the SSA virtual auction started on July 19 and runs until July 25, and items include gift cards, an Apple Watch Series 5 and a vacation in the Outer Banks.
“I need money and volunteers,” said SSA Executive Director Mary Lee Anderson. “The basics. We’ve applied for every grant out there that we remotely qualify for. We are scrounging, because we have to make up for a lack of a gala.”
Anderson said residents can also donate their old cars to Meals on Wheels Through America, and that SSA will get 70% of the proceeds when the donor selects SSA as the participating program.
“In February, we were delivering 900 meals per week,” Anderson said. “We’re now delivering upward of 2,500 meals per week, and we have fewer volunteers.”
Anderson added, “There was never a question of if we could do this, but how we will do this. We can’t stop these services because people will die. When you have something so basic, you don’t question it.
Photo via Senior Services of Alexandria/Facebook
