Meet Barbara, A Vivalon Meals on Wheels Client
Barbara led an active, social life here in Marin. She raised her family, worked as a nurse, created day programs for local children, and spent weekends and evenings with friends and family.
A few years ago, Barbara’s husband began dealing with some complicated health issues. It seemed as if one day he was fine, and the next day their world changed.
“The income dwindled a lot, and it’s been very scary,” says Barbara.
Unfortunately, she’s not the only who has been faced with this same reality. Too many older adults have to make decisions about whether to pay for rent or medicine, and 41% percent of people over age 74 live alone. These are two reasons why Vivalon’s meal services are so critical.
Thanks to Meals on Wheels, Barbara is now receiving nutritious meals three times a week, delivered by friendly drivers.
“Meals on Wheels is a lot more than just delivering food to you,” says Barbara. “It’s a wonderful resource for any kind of help you need. It’s the whole person, and they understand what older people deal with.”
Every year, we serve 16,000 individuals like Barbara through our integrated healthy aging services, including Meals on Wheels, our weekly food pantry, and on-site café. It’s because of support from the community that our older neighbors in need can access these programs.
On Saturday, May 6, Vivalon donors and friends came together for our biggest event of the year, our Soirée d’Élégance. We raised $375,200 to support healthy aging programs at Vivalon and the over 130,000 meals that we deliver annually. This is a tremendous accomplishment for our community, and we are so grateful to each person who had a hand in making this possible!
Barbara kindly shared her heartfelt story at the event. You can watch the video here.
If you are interested in helping people like Barbara, join our volunteer team here!
