$25,000 donation from the Walmart Foundation will feed 1,400 seniors in need this holiday season

COLUMBIA, SC – City of Columbia officials and Walmart Foundation representatives gathered at a Senior Resources Wellness Center to announce a major initiative to provide holiday meals to more than 1,400 Columbia-area seniors in need.

Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin arrived at the Bishop Avenue Wellness Center bearing a Thanksgiving meal for each Wellness Center client. Each boxed meal included a frozen turkey and all the trimmings.

“Thanks to Walmart Foundation’s generosity, we are thrilled to provide a large number of meals to Columbia-area seniors,” said Mayor Benjamin. “Addressing issues related to hunger is necessary year-round, and we are thankful to everyone in our community who goes the extra mile to ensure people — including senior citizens — are fed around the holidays.”

The meals were made possible by a $25,000 donation from the Walmart Foundation, which will provide holiday meals, non-perishable food boxes, and bags of fresh produce to more than 1,400 Senior Resources clients and other Midlands seniors in need.

In addition to the Thanksgiving meals delivered today, the Walmart donation will provide food to Senior Resources clients in the following programs:

• Meals on Wheels clients will receive special holiday meals for Thanksgiving and Christmas, provided by Iacafano’s Catering, Senior Resources meal caterer. Each Meals on Wheels client will also receive four shelf-stable meals to use over the long holiday weekends, or during any other time of need. Senior Resources currently serves about 475 seniors in the Meals on Wheels program.
• In addition to the Thanksgiving meals they are receiving this week, 100 clients at Senior Resources’ four Wellness Centerswill also receive a meal box before Christmas, with a ham and a variety of side dishes.
• Clients in the Foster Grandparent and Senior Companion programs will be treated to a holiday celebration luncheon, and will also be given a meal box with a ham and side dishes. There are 140 seniors serving in these programs, which provide volunteer opportunities for low-income seniors.
• Participants in the Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) will be treated to a holiday luncheon. There are 250 seniors who serve in RSVP, which matches seniors with volunteer opportunities throughout the community.
• Recipients of co-op bags assembled by RSVP volunteers will receive an extra portion of fresh produce in their November bags. RSVP volunteers pack about 450 co-op bags each month, which are delivered to local home-bound seniors and residents of low-income senior housing units.
• Remaining funds will be used to stock the shelves of our Senior Care Pantry. This pantry allows Senior Resources to provide boxes of non-perishable food, toiletries and household items to seniors on the Meals on Wheels waiting list.

“We feel incredibly grateful to the Walmart Foundation for allowing us to deliver so many extra blessings to our clients and other needy seniors in our community this holiday season,” said Senior Resources Executive Director Pam Dukes.

In 2015, community giving in South Carolina from Walmart stores, clubs and the Walmart Foundation totaled $30 million.

About Senior Resources, Inc.

Senior Resources is a non-profit organization that coordinates services, provides resources and encourages the personal choices that allow Columbia’s senior citizens to remain independent.  All activities, services and programs of the agency are geared toward promoting independent living, with the goal of helping seniors remain in their homes as long as possible through the support of staff and volunteers, and delaying or preventing the need for institutionalized care.

Since 1967, Senior Resources has served Columbia’s frail and elderly residents in three areas:

1) In-home services, including Meals on Wheels, home care, respite care, senior companion services, and case management;

2) Community-based services, including congregate meals, wellness centers, transportation, and physical fitness;

3) Volunteer services, including the Senior Companion program, Foster Grandparent program, and the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program.

With local, state and federal government funding, as well as contributions from United Way, personal donations and fundraising activities, Senior Resources offers a variety of programs so that our clients can select the assistance they need to maintain a healthy and independent lifestyle.

About Philanthropy at Walmart

By using our strengths to help others, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation create opportunities for people to live better every day. We have stores in 28 countries, employing more than 2.3 million associates and doing business with thousands of suppliers who, in turn, employ millions of people. We are helping people live better by accelerating upward job mobility and economic development for the retail workforce; addressing hunger and making healthier, more sustainably-grown food a reality; and building strong communities where we operate and inspiring our associates to give back. Whether it is helping to lead the fight against hunger in the United States with $2 billion in cash and in-kind donations or supporting Women’s Economic Empowerment through a series of grants totaling $10 million to the Women in Factories training program in Bangladesh, China, India and Central America, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are not only working to tackle key social issues, we are also collaborating with others to inspire solutions for long-lasting systemic change. To learn more about Walmart’s giving, visit foundation.walmart.com.