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After more than 15 years, the Meals on Wheels network is once again participating in the 2023 Subaru Share the Love Event.

And, just in time for the Christmas season, Piedmont Senior Resources Area Agency on Aging (PSR), as part of its Santa for Seniors Project, is seeking to pack Christmas bags for more than 450 isolated, homebound older adults.

The 2023 Share the Love Kick-Off Event was held in tandem with The Farmville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Chamber After Hours, at 1413 S. Main Street in Farmville. The event included food, music, information about the event, and a peek at PSR’s Whoville-themed decorations in the office and on our patio.

“For eight years now PSR has participated in this worthwhile cause that brings tears, smiles, and warmth to our older adult clients,” said Nutrition and Transportation Director Thomas Jordan Miles III. “PSR is proud to take part in The 2023 Subaru Share the Love Event, and our homebound, older adult clients will receive a large bag of staples for Christmas they can use,” Miles said. “We know and have been told that often, this is the only gift they may receive during the holiday season.”

“This program has benefited thousands of our homebound older adults,” said PSR CEO Justine Young, who had the concept for this event in the very beginning eight years ago. “This event has grown and flourished because community support. The grant funding we receive from this event funds multiple programs at PSR.”

Supplies needed

In addition to monetary donations to purchase needed items for our older adults, PSR is in need of non-perishable food items, along with toiletries, such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, hand towels, shampoo, lotion, deodorant, hand sanitizer, small containers of laundry detergent, soap, blankets, etc. They can be donated in person at 1413 S. Main Street, or online at https://www.psraaa.org/support-us.html.

Just as PSR has done in years past, the donated items will be packed by staff and volunteers, and then delivered to home-bound and isolated seniors during the week before Christmas in December. The bags not only include necessities, but a hand-signed card from area children.

As part of a national partnership with Meals on Wheels America, Subaru of America, Inc. and its retailers will donate a minimum of $300 to charity, like Meals on Wheels, for every new vehicle leased or sold from Nov. 16 to Jan. 2. 

Since the Subaru Share the Love Event began in 2008, Subaru and its participating retailers have donated more than 4.3 million meals and helped provide friendly visits to seniors being served by local Meals on Wheels programs across the country. For more information, visit www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org/sharethelove.

One in four seniors lives alone in isolation and one in seven seniors might not know from where their next meal is coming. This is why PSR provides nutritious meals, friendly visits and safety checks to the seniors in Amelia, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Lunenburg, Nottoway and Prince Edward counties. This keeps seniors in their own homes.