2022 Annual Appeal
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This year the Rose Centers for Aging Well was committed to welcoming older adults back to our seven Cleveland senior centers after a closure of 16 months due to the COVID pandemic.
The senior centers are welcoming spaces that serve daily lunches and provide engaging activities to prevent social isolation. A rapid transition to home delivery of meals meant that not a day went by when older adults were without a meal. In fact, our meal delivery reached record heights with the Rose Centers delivering 224,000 meals in 2020 and 243,000 meals in 2021.
We worked hard to prevent social isolation with car parades, telephone bingo and weekly wellness calls. But we knew the isolation was taking its toll. Once we could safely reopen our doors, we quickly realized many of our participants faced new barriers to returning. Health issues and pandemic related concerns made it challenging to return to life as it was before.
Overcoming those challenges and making participants feel safe and excited about their return was a top priority this year. The Rose Centers adjusted the distribution of meals, updated protocols and offered new and engaging activities. Since re-opening, older adults have enjoyed activities such as:
- Candle and soap making
- Trips to Amish Country
- Musical theatre
- Ceramics
- Healthy cooking classes
- Line dancing
- Live music entertainment
- Art classes
- Caricature drawings
- Flower arranging
- Chair yoga
“I enjoy socializing while enjoying a hot meal or playing a game of cards, doing arts and crafts, learning something new or going on day trips to area attractions,” said Christine, a Rose Centers participant.
Today, with the seven centers back open, we’re seeing an increase in participation that we attribute to the new activity offerings and the higher cost of food.
Higher attendance rates at our centers mean higher demand for meals for older adults. So far this year, we’ve served more than 26,000 lunches at our seven locations, while continuing home delivery of meals too.
As we continue to focus our efforts on doing everything we can to keep older adults remain active and engaged, we are asking for your support to ensure we can continue providing lifesaving meals to the older adults who need them most.