Headquarters of Meals on Wheels

Background and History

The Alamance County Meals on Wheels Inc (ACMOW) was established on May 20, 1973. Their purpose is to provide in home services to the elderly and to enhance their quality of life. The ACMOW provides home delivered meals as well as grocery delivery services. The agency has grown tremendously from its beginning and now serves over 400 meals each day to the elderly! These meals are distributed on 25 different hot and frozen meal routes that are all around the Burlington/ Alamance area. Their system is based tremendously on volunteers and those in the community who offer their time to better the lives of others. There are also many positions that are held throughout the company such as the Executive Director, Delivery Coordinator, Lead Meals on Wheels Assessor, Groceries on Wheels Coordinator, Volunteer Coordinator, Frozen Meal Drivers, and Board of Directors. The current Executive Director is Anne Baker. Each of these positions reacquires hours of time and dedication. On average, people in each of these positions spend around 20-40 hours per week helping make a difference in peoples lives.

MISSION STATEMENT: "To provide in-home services in Alamance County to improve the quality of life for seniors and their families. "

Meals on Wheels-Alamance

Alamance County Meals on Wheels Inc now proudly delivers over 100,000 meals each year to the elderly who are no longer able to cook and clean on their own. This system has been a blessing to many seniors ages 60 years and up. Meals are made by a local caterer and picked up by a volunteer at one of the 9 "drop-off sites". From there, the volunteer personally delivers the meals to the individuals house. Each route that the volunteers complete is typically around 15 miles and in this route they deliver to 16 houses or less. Currently, their team of volunteers consists of over 800 people who are excited to be involved and give back to the elderly. This team of volunteers provides more to their clients than just food to eat, they often also provide a friendship and care to those in the community. 

Groceries on Wheels-Alamance

This section of ACMOW is geared toward elderly individuals who need help shopping for their weekly groceries. Often, the individual lives alone, are unable to drive or get to the grocery store on a regular basis. As a volunteer, you would paired up with a client and you would be responsible for getting groceries from a list previously created by the client, getting their supplies from the store, and delivering it to their home. This process is extremely helpful to elderly who are confined to their homes due to illness, injury, or mental limitations.

Meals on Wheels across the Nation

"The Meals On Wheels Association of America is the oldest and largest national organization composed of and representing local, community-based Senior Nutrition Programs in all 50 U.S. states, as well as the U.S. Territories."  This organization was developed in Philadelphia in the 1950's and has since been serving an astounding 1 million meals per day!  The MOW Association of America is a part of the Better Business Bureau and has met all 20 elements of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance.

Marketing Strategies

The Alamance County Meals on Wheels has marketed their services via blogs, fundraisers, and social media pages. The ACMOW created a blog titled WE ARE Meals on Wheels. This blog shares stories of individuals who are receiving the benefits of the Meals on Wheels or Groceries on Wheels programs, and tells how this experience has impacted their lives for the better. Reading these stories that clients have reported first-hand really shows how the program has been successful in achieving their mission statement. One of the ACMOW's most profitable fundraisers is the Duck Race. Each participant can buy a rubber duck to race for prizes. To appeal to a younger audience, Meals on wheels in Alamance has created a Facebook page to keep people updated on volunteer opportunities as well as share success stories.

Address:

Located on West Fifth Street in downtown Burlington. It is at 411 West 5th St # A, Burlington, NC 27215.

For more information call- (336) 228-8815

Sources:

http://www.alamancemow.org/

http://www.dashforthecash.org/

http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/top-news/more-emergency-funds-allocated-for-county-in-2012-1.33346

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Alamance-Co-Meals-On-Wheels/171430009594358