Senior Connections starts GoFundMe campaign to help Meals on Wheels

Several years ago, the entire middle school from Sophia Academy spent a morning volunteering at Senior Connection, a Chamblee nonprofit that provides home and community based care for seniors. The students helped with the Mealson Wheels program which provides food to housebound seniors. l

Credit: HANDOUT

Credit: HANDOUT

Several years ago, the entire middle school from Sophia Academy spent a morning volunteering at Senior Connection, a Chamblee nonprofit that provides home and community based care for seniors. The students helped with the Mealson Wheels program which provides food to housebound seniors. l

A Chamblee-based nonprofit has turned to crowdfunding to raise $50,000 to buy equipment that will allow it to store food for its Meals on Wheels program.

Senior Connections, which provides home and community-based services to senior citizens in metro Atlanta and middle Georgia, has launched a GoFundMe campaign to buy two walk-in blast chillers. The industrial-grade equipment is used to process and store meals created in its kitchens .

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The Meals on Wheels program prepares and delivers 15,000 meals per week to individuals, senior centers, adult day cares and senior residential living facilities.

The meals must be delivered frozen so they can be stored and heated later.

“Without a blast chiller, we cannot ensure the food will be safely prepared, stores and delivered,” said CEO

Debra Furtado. She said the nonprofit’s current blast chillers are at least 20 years old and can’t be economically repaired.

The nonprofit has several corporate supporters, but the old units could go at any time and officials felt crowdfunding would be the fastest way to raise money.

The chillers cost about $25,000 each. The campaign goal is $53,500, of which $100 has been raised.

To donate, call 770-455-7602  or go to GoFundMe or the Senior Connections website. Donor can also send checks to Senior Connections at 5238 Peachtree Road, Chamblee, Ga. 30341. (Please note freezer in the memo field.)

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