Meals on Wheels People News Winter 2012 Edition

We are Meals on Wheels PeopleWe have a new name and a new look, but our vision remains the same — that no senior will go hungry or experience social isolation.

We are the Meals on Wheels People. Since 1970 our staff and volunteers have served and delivered tens of millions of meals to seniors in the greater metropolitan area. We have evolved from a program with its roots in church basements to an organization that now has 35 dynamic meal sites and almost 10,000 volunteers.

Our name has evolved as well. In September, we introduced our new logo, which emphasizes our most recognized product — Meals on Wheels. Our market research indicates that people more quickly recognize Meals on Wheels and can instantly identify what we do and who we serve. Clients and volunteers have responded well to the contemporary new logo, which

W I N T E R 2 0 1 3

you may have already seen on our fleet of trucks, billboards across the metro area and in advertisements in the Oregonian and other publications.

The decision to refresh the brand was not undertaken lightly. The Board of Directors reviewed a

decade of market research and involved a wide

array of individuals and groups in the decision-making process. Volunteers,

donors, clients, staff and

centers council representatives all

helped shape the final name and look. Board members strongly believe that the name Meals on Wheels People will allow the organization to better meet the growing needs of an expanding senior population.

Let us know what you think of the new look! Contact the editor at [email protected] with your comments.

Rockwood Center: A year of mealsSee pages 6 & 7

IN ThIs IssuE

N E W sN E W s

Client Profile: Odell & Rita homsleySee pages 8 9

Early volunteer now dines at Clark CenterSee page 10

Page 2 mealsonwheelspeople.org

Tom Kelly Includes Meals on Wheels People in Estate PlanAt Neil Kelly Company, the staff often joke that founder Neil Kelly began delivering Meals on Wheels before the Meals on Wheels People began. He and the neighborhood church brought hot meals to their elderly neighbors in the 1960s. When Meals on Wheels People incorporated, Neil continued to deliver meals and often took his kids along with him.

“We delivered in North Portland, not far from the office,” said Tom Kelly, Neil’s son. “Mississippi Street is fairly gentrified now, but in those days it wasn’t so grand. We delivered to one lady who was terribly disfigured. I don’t know if she had been in a fire or what, but my dad was so gracious and kind to her. He treated her like a queen. I will never forget the example he set for us.”

Neil Kelly’s generous spirit and community activism is what inspires Tom’s civic involvement. He continues to deliver meals — along with other staff members — and served as the President of Meals on Wheels People Board of Directors in 2011. And he recently named Meals on Wheels People as one of the beneficiaries of his estate plan.

“Philanthropy is all about impact,” Tom said. “Anyone can write a check, but an estate gift can make a huge difference for an organization.”

Big impact became evident to Tom when Dorothy Bebek, a long-time secretary at the Neil Kelly Company, died in 2010 and left a portion of her estate to Meals on Wheels People. “Dorothy was a very humble lady who lived right

here in the neighborhood,” Tom said. “She was not a wealthy woman and wasn’t able to make many charitable donations in her lifetime. But she made a very substantial gift in her estate that will continue to feed seniors for years to come.”

Tom said that when making his estate plan he selected charitable organizations with which he has a personal involvement. “Having been involved with nonprofits on many levels, I know how important legacy gifts are to the continuation of an organization,” Tom said. “At Meals on Wheels People, I’ve seen the difference hot meals make in the lives of homebound seniors.”

Naming Meals on Wheels People in your will or estate plan is an easy way to ensure seniors will continue to receive meals for years to come. And it’s a way to make the kind of gift you may not be able to make during your lifetime.

“Every gift to Meals on Wheels People, large or small, is important to the organization,” Tom said, “Every gift is a ‘major’ gift.”

For information on how you can include Meals on Wheels People in your will or estate plan, contact our Chief Development Officer Dev Dion at [email protected] or call 503.953.8133.

Tom Kelly (far left) and Dorothy Bebek (left).

mealsonwheelspeople.org Page 3

If you're age 70 ½ or older, you can make a direct tax-free rollover of up to $100,000 from an IRA to a qualified charitable organization, like Meals on Wheels People. Donations may be made through Feb. 1, 2013, and may be counted retroactively for the 2012 tax year. Gifts made after Feb. 1 will be counted for the 2013 tax year.

A direct rollover will be much better for most donors than a taxable IRA withdrawal followed by a charitable gift. Eligible donors can still make a deferred gift of an IRA or other

From the Executive DirectorThis season we all felt how uncertain life can be. Loss of control for the well-being of your family and yourself leaves you frightened and helpless. As we listened to the “fiscal cliff ” debate, I wondered how our seniors felt about the talk of eliminating Meals on Wheels. Many elders surely felt helpless and in despair.

This past holiday season at Meals on Wheels People the seniors that we serve received joy and hope delivered along with their meals. Hundreds of families spent Thanksgiving Day serving a traditional Thanksgiving dinner to seniors and included placemats and pinecone turkeys decorated by school children, lap quilts and scarves crocheted by community members and other special treats.

In December, many companies called to ask how they could do something special for Meals on Wheels People. As a result, 2,600 gift bags were prepared by former SmithBarney employees for each Meals on Wheels senior containing fresh and dried fruit, candy, tuna and more. Providence nurses collected special gifts for our most frail seniors and Franklin High School art students created 70 gingerbread houses to grace the lunchroom tables at our meal sites.

We cannot always control the negative activity in our communities, but we can make a positive impact. The seniors in our communities know that they are valued and respected by Meals on Wheels People and the 10,000 volunteers working to meet their

basic need of nourishment every day.

Seventeen percent of our seniors live on our one meal per day. If that thin lifeline was cut — they would be helpless. Please continue to support and engage with Meals on Wheels People so that no senior will go hungry or experience social isolation.

The Charitable IRA Rollover is Back for 2012-13retirement account by naming Meals on Wheels People as a beneficiary of the account at their death.

You may contribute funds this way if: ■ You are age 70 ½or older at the time of the gift.

■ The gifts total any amount up to $100,000 in 2012.

■ You transfer funds directly from an IRA.

■ You transfer the gifts outright to one or more qualified charities, but not to supporting organizations, or

for gift annuities, charitable trusts or donor advised funds.

To make a gift to Meals on Wheels People, contact your IRA custodian directly. You may also contact Chief Development Officer Dev Dion at 503.953.8133 or at [email protected] for assistance.


Long-term Employees Provide stabilityOver the last 40 years, Yvonne Silvernagel has moved her residence five times. But she’s worked for just one organization — Meals on Wheels People. What started out as a part-time job when her three children were in grade school has turned into a career that has spanned a lifetime. Now the controller, Yvonne has seen Meals on Wheels People grow from a grassroots movement based in the basement of Westminster Presbyterian Church to a nonprofit organization that sets the pace for Meals on Wheels programs across the nation.

When asked why she has stayed with one employer for so many years, Yvonne answered, “I believe in what we do. That’s why I try to deliver a Meals on Wheels route several times a year. It keeps me in touch with the clients and they’re the reason we exist. I’m sometimes amazed at how many years I have been here. I just like what I do.”

Yvonne is not alone. More than a dozen of Meals on Wheels People 102 full-time and part-time employees have more than 15 years of service with the organization, including Executive Director Joan Smith. She began her career in 1982 doing assessment of Meals on Wheels clients in downtown Portland, then served as a center manager, regional manager and deputy director before being named executive director in 2000.

“I look at my work here as a vocation rather than a job,” Joan said. “The mission resonated with me when I volunteered as a young mother and it still tugs at my heartstrings all these years later.”

Food Service Director Tom Maier joined Meals on Wheels People in 1987. He had been opening restaurants for Elmer’s Restaurants and wanted something new and different. His first job was as a quality control supervisor overseeing production of meals in our Central Kitchen. Tom delivers a Meals on Wheels route out of the Thelma Skelton Center every week.

“I’ve seen firsthand what good nutrition and a friendly visit does for seniors,” Tom said. “The people

on my route are literally starved for companionship and the desire to just talk to someone. It’s that direct connection with clients that reinforces why I’ve stayed in this job so long.”

Tom often receives calls from clients about the food they receive. Several years ago, a lady phoned him to say she was not getting enough dessert — especially the bread pudding. “I drove out to her house with an extra serving of bread pudding that very day and continued to give her an extra serving every other week for about nine months,” he said. “It was a little thing, but that bread pudding was a big highlight for her during the final months of her life.”

Linda Burgard and Yvonne Silvernagel


Tom jokes that his long-term goal is to retire and serve on the board of directors for Meals on Wheels People. And to continue delivering Meals on Wheels, of course.

Linda Burgard, who manages the client service coordinators, has worked directly with clients since 1990. Linda is in the homes of our clients daily and sees both heartbreaking and heartwarming situations. “Seniors are such interesting and outstanding people,” Linda said. “They just want to be heard and respected in their last years. In my job, I see beyond the clutter, poverty and sadness to a person with a story. I learn new lessons every day from the people I meet on the job.”

Irene Coy took a job in the Central Kitchen 24 years ago at the urging of her mother-in-law Anne Coy,

Long-term staff at Meals on Wheels People

Yvonne SilvernagelFinance, 40 years

Joan SmithExecutive, 30 years

Nadine ShepherdExecutive, 27 years

Tom MaierCentral Kitchen, 25 Years

Jackie McAteeBattle Ground, 25 years

Irene CoyCentral Kitchen, 24 years

Linda BurgardClient Services, 22 years

Ruth JensenTwo Rivers, 22 years

Jean KairouzCentral Kitchen, 17 years

Jan ReneeClient Services, 17 years

Hanh NeumanCentral Kitchen, 16 years

Stephen PletkaCherry Blossom, 15 years

Julio (JoJo) SalvadorCentral Kitchen driver, 15 years

Khiem BrewerCentral Kitchen, 14 years

Type twitter.com/mealswheelsppl

Type facebook.com/Feedingseniors

Follow us

and on our website,www.mealsonwheelspeople.org

Long-term staff in the kitchen include, from left to right: Food Service Director Tom Maier, Hanh Neuman, Irene Coy, Khiem Brewer and Jean Kairouz.

who was already an employee. “I was looking for a job with benefits,” Irene said. “I never thought I would stay so many years, but the staff in the kitchen has become a tight-knit family. A lot of us have been on the job for 10 or more years and we have a good working rhythm.”


Rockwood Center: A Year of MealsLunch at the Rockwood Center is a bit like dining at a neighborhood deli. Diners arrive, check in with the hostess and sit at their favorite table. A server arrives to pour beverages and take orders. Meals are served amid lively conversation and, after an hour or so, guests linger over dessert and coffee. It’s this restaurant feel that keeps 50 to 75 neighborhood seniors coming in daily for lunch a little more than a year after the center opened in October 2011.

“I live in Troutdale, which is closer to the Ambleside Center, but I come here for lunch,” said Sung. “I like the atmosphere at this center. It’s smaller, not so crowded. And I like the food!”

“It’s good, wholesome food,” said Gary, another diner. “It’s right on the bus line, which is convenient, and I come here for lunch between my volunteer jobs.”

Trudy, Maureen and Mike are regulars at table nine at least three days each week. “We are the happy table!” Maureen joked as Mike chimed in, “I contribute the sarcasm to the conversation.”

“This center has a great restaurant atmosphere,” Trudy said. “I learned about the center from a flyer mailed to my home when it opened a year ago. I love meeting new people. When I came here, I didn’t know anyone. Now there are seven of us who meet here regularly for lunch.”

Center Manager Liz LaPlante tries to make every meal a special event and every plate a culinary masterpiece. “Many of our clients have not been out to dinner for years and this is their only dining-out experience,” she said. “We put a lot of emphasis on the plating of each meal so diners will get the

Gary is a Rockwood Center regular. Presley has gained valuable experience as an intern at Rockwood Center.

Sung enjoys the company and the food at Rockwood Center.

same experience they would if they were dining in a restaurant.”

A typical lunch plate at the Rockwood Center might include a garnish of curried eggplant, orange-marinated jicama or perhaps a sesame-miso-orange salad dressing made from scratch. Liz also supplements


Rockwood Center relies on its wonderful volunteers. Manager Liz LaPlante is in center.

meals with fresh produce from the Oregon Food Bank or from products donated to the Center.

Liz has formed a number of partnerships that provide programming at the center. Wallace Medical Concern offers gentle yoga once a week and will soon begin nutrition and health literacy classes. Oregon Food Bank, which currently provides fresh produce to the center, plans to begin a series of Nutritious Cooking lessons in the evenings this spring. Liz has also partnered with the Pongo Fund and is able to provide pet food to her diners. Community Works Northwest has provided a steady stream of interns who serve as waiters, dishwashers and prep cooks.

Presley has been interning at Rockwood for three months. “I love the people here,” he said. “They’re happy to come in and

have lunch with us and I get valuable work experience.”

“People have found a home here and invite their friends,” Liz said. “We have at least half-a-dozen languages spoken in the dining room during lunch, which keeps things lively!”

The Rockwood Center is located in an area dense with seniors and yet isolated from two larger Meals on Wheels People centers — Ambleside in Gresham and Cherry Blossom near Mall 205. “A lot of our diners take public transportation and we’re ideally located on both a major bus route and a block from a Max station,” Liz said. “We have clearly filled a need for a senior dining center in this neighborhood.”

To visit the Rockwood Center, go to the Rockwood Building at 124 NE 181st, just off of Burnside. It’s open for lunch weekdays.

Plan now to attend one of our two Spring Luncheons.

The Clark County Spring Luncheon is set for Thursday, April 11, at the Vancouver Hilton. We are pleased to welcome Columbia Credit Union as presenting sponsor. Barry Cain, President of Gramor Development, is honorary chairman and Dave Dahl, from Dave’s Killer Bread, will present the keynote address. Regence BlueCross Blue Shield is our Gold Sponsor, Gramor Development and New Seasons Market are Bronze Sponsors.

The Portland Spring Luncheon is set for Thursday, May 9, at the Oregon Convention Center. New Seasons Market is the presenting sponsor and Don Antonuci, President of Regence BlueCross BlueShield, is the honorary chairman. Jim Bock, from E C Company, is chairing the event.

Sponsoring one our Luncheons is a great way to visibly join with other local businesspeople to show your support of seniors served by Meals on Wheels People. 100 percent of your sponsorship is used to provide meals for seniors, and sponsorship levels begin at just $1,700. If your company would like to become a Luncheon sponsor, contact Marcie Kessel at 503.953.8130 or [email protected].

spring Lucheon Dates set


Odell Homsley is a charmer. His quick wit and pronounced Southern drawl belie his 87 years, as does his ability to bound up the steps of his home in Vancouver. Only his World War II veteran’s ballcap and diminished eyesight hint at his advancing years. Odell and his wife of 67 years, Rita, receive daily Meals on Wheels from our Firstenburg Center.

Odell exemplifies the classic American Dream story. Born into poverty in Arkansas, he dropped out of school after sixth grade to help his family pick cotton. At the age of 14, he came west to live with an uncle and work the strawberry fields in Oregon, eventually landing a job in the booming shipyards of Portland. After Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the Army. As part of the 397th Infantry, Odell was involved in the Battle of the Bulge and suffered such severe frostbite that he was hospitalized for several months.

Rita was born in Oklahoma and, like so many during the Depression, moved to California and then to Oregon in the 1930s. She first met Odell when she was a junior high student. She passed his bus stop daily on her way to school. When Odell left for the Army, Rita agreed to write to him. “I had her letters delivered right to my foxhole!” Odell said with a laugh. When he returned to Portland in 1945, Odell and Rita married. She was 17 and he was not quite 20. After 67 years, Odell is clearly devoted to Rita.

After struggling to find work for several years, Odell took a job at Foster and Kleiser Outdoor Advertising (now part of Clear Channel) hanging billboards. He stayed for 40 years, retiring in 1987. “I loved my job,” Odell said. “Hours were good, I could work outside and the benefits couldn’t be beat. I never even thought of looking for another job.”

The Homsleys raised four children, living for a time on a berry farm in Sandy. Their youngest son is now an executive with Clear Channel in Florida and spent his early apprenticeship as a billboard hanger with his dad. Rita’s health began to decline several years ago and she now struggles with COPD. Standing at a stove to prepare meals became too much for her. A neighbor told them about Meals on Wheels and it has transformed their lives.

“I don’t know what we would have done without them,” Odell said. “I can barely open cans, so cooking is pretty much out of the question for me. I can fry up some eggs for breakfast, but that’s the end of my cooking skills.”

Like so many seniors we serve, the hot daily meals are what allow them to stay independent and living in their own home. “We tried assisted living, but moved

Client Profile: Odell & Rita Homsley


“We always ate home cooked meals. Meals on Wheels are home cooked, just not by us!”

— Odell Homsley

back home after a month,” Rita said. “It just wasn’t the life for us.” Used to an outdoor life, Odell felt cooped up and missed having a garden. They now live in a tidy manufactured home and look forward to the daily visits with the Meals on Wheels volunteers. When asked to what he attributed his long life, Odell answered quickly, “I married a good woman and we always ate home cooked meals. Meals on Wheels are home cooked, just not by us!”

Edwards Center Begins serving MealsBeginning this month, Meals on Wheels People will provide meals to the Edwards Center in Aloha, a housing development for disabled adults. Rather than a typical group home, the Edwards center is an entire neighborhood that includes space for the families of its disabled residents. The first of its kind in the Portland area, the Edwards Center includes nine homes.

Meals on Wheels People began delivering weekday meals for about 100 people on Jan. 14. Residents dine on the same menu our seniors enjoy, but they eat their main meal in the evening. Because the menu profile is the same for both Edwards Center and our 35 center

dining rooms, Central Kitchen staff simply adds the additional meals to the established work routine. An employee at the Edwards Center plates the meals in the same way they are presented at our centers. Five additional homes in a second Edwards Center location in Clackamas County will receive meals beginning in February.

Alison Dougall and Lori Schlosser at the Edwards Center

If you’re a fan of the scrumptious Cinnabon gift boxes delivered on Valentine’s Day, don’t wait to place your order. After this year’s annual Valentine-A-Gram event on Feb. 14, the popular fundraising event will be retired. Over the course of the last 18 years, Valentine-A-Gram has raised nearly $1 million to provide hot meals to seniors.

It all began with a phone call. The Hollywood Center had created Valentine’s Day gift boxes with homemade cinnamon rolls for a couple of years and the event had become so popular, they could not keep up with the demand. The center manager made a call to her

Last Year for Valentine-A-Gramneighborhood Cinnabon store to ask if they could help out and the rest is history.

Today, all of the products used to create 3,500 gift boxes annually are donated so that 100 percent of the purchase price is used for senior meals. For Steve Foltz and John Whittaker, Cinnabon and Jamba Juice franchise owners, the annual Valentine-A-Gram fundraiser has become a tradition that illustrates the importance of corporate giving. “All our Cinnabon and Jamba Juice employees feel very proud to volunteer to help support an organization as deserving as Meals on Wheels People,” said Steve. “And

our business partners are happy to join with us to make this event such a success every year.”

This is your last chance to order a Valentine-A-Gram! To ensure that your box of goodies is delivered to your special someone on Valentine’s Day, log on to valentineagram.org and place your order today!

Steve Foltz, Cinnabon/Jamba Juice franchise owner and Meals on Wheels People board member.


Early Volunteer Now Dines at Clark Center

Vonnie Brustad has come full circle. She began volunteering in the kitchen at one of our first meal sites in Northwest Portland in 1972. Now, 40 years later, she and her husband, Ray, are regular diners at the Clark Center in Southeast Portland.

“My mother-in-law was not getting out and I knew there was a senior citizens club at the church in her neighborhood,” Vonnie said. “It was just five blocks from where she lived. I brought her over for the club and then stayed to volunteer for Meals on Wheels.”

The center moved locations a few times in those early years, and Vonnie moved with it. She volunteered as both a cashier and a server. “We had a great location right in the heart of the residential

area of Northwest Portland,” Vonnie said. “We drew big crowds from the first day we opened our doors.”

Vonnie noted that while some things have changed at the meal sites, others remain the same. “In the early days, we did all the cooking right at the center,” she said. “But the Meals on Wheels distribution is just about the same today as it was then. The centers still use coolers to keep the cold food cold and the hot food hot!”

Even when Ray and Vonnie moved from the west side of town to Southeast Portland, she continued to volunteer at the downtown Portland location. In fact, she volunteered weekly for more than 27 years until she fell and broke her shoulder. “We even got Meals

on Wheels for a time during my recovery,” she laughed. Vonnie was the Meals on Wheels Volunteer of the Year in 1995.

Now, nearly 90, Vonnie and Ray frequently visit the Clark Center near their home in Southeast Portland for lunch. They enjoy the specials created by Chef Lynne Chowning. The Brustads, who are also active in the Sons of Norway, will celebrate their 69th wedding anniversary this year.

“I just like people,” Vonnie said. “And volunteering with Meals on Wheels was a good way to stay involved in my community. While it started out as a way to fill time, it became like a job for me. It’s hard to believe so many years have gone by!”

Need a Meal?


Fall Fundraisers Bring in Needed FundsTwo events during the holiday season raised much-needed cash to provide hot meals to seniors in our community. Our annual Donate Dinner campaign took place Nov. 17 through 21 at 25 independent grocers throughout the metro area. Shoppers were encouraged to “donate dinner” to a senior when they checked out. More than 1,200 volunteers helped staff the stores during the five day campaign, which raised more than $200,000. Participating grocers included all New Seasons Markets, Whole Foods, Market of Choice, Chuck’s Produce, Haggen Tualatin, Bales Thriftways, Lamb’s Thriftways, Hank’s Thriftway and Jim’s Thriftway. A special thanks goes to our two restaurant partners for Donate Dinner this year: Deschutes Brewery and Laughing Planet, that asked diners to add a dollar donation when they paid their bill.

Willamette Week selected Meals on Wheels People for the second time as one of 100 local nonprofit organizations to feature in its annual Give!Guide during the holiday season. Give!Guide targets donors between the ages of 18 to 35 and encourages them to get involved in philanthropy for as little as $10. Incentives ranging from free ice cream at Salt and Straw to Shwood sunglasses and vintage wine were provided to those who made gifts on specific days or in very large amounts.

Willamette Week readers donated $24,000. We are very grateful to Joseph Anthony & Associates who matched the first $2,000 donations from Give!Guide.

Catherine and Sam Saunders

Gil Alvarez and Henry Alvarez from Bank of the Cascades

Jim Mayer and Christina Kuang

Tristan Baker of Wells Fargo

Need a Meal?

Want to register a loved

one to receive daily, hot

Meals on Wheels?

Visit us at

mealsonwheelspeople.org

or phone 503.736.6325.

NON PROFIT ORGUS POSTAGE

PAIDPORTLAND OR

PERMIT NO. 1087

P.O Box 19477Portland, OR 97280-0477

Tel: 503.953.8136 mealsonwheels.org Julie Piper Finley, ABC, editor [email protected]

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Meals on Wheels People News Winter 2012 Edition