Safelite Begins Meals-on-Wheels Delivery Route
COLUMBUS, Ohio – May 27, 2011 - Safelite AutoGlass®, the nation’s leading provider of vehicle glass repair and replacement services, encourages associates to give back to the community, and recently launched a corporate delivery route for Meals-on-Wheels, a program provided by LifeCare Alliance. Forty-five associates volunteered to rotate the weekday route using a Safelite AutoGlass® vehicle provided by the company.
In 2010, Safelite AutoGlass® launched the Associate Volunteer Day – a paid day off work to volunteer a full 8-hour day at a charity of the associate’s choice. Columbus-area associates are using one hour of their volunteer day time along with their lunch hour to participate.
“I appreciate our associates’ support of this program as our efforts to deliver Meals-on-Wheels as it saves LifeCare Alliance $12,000 per year, which is equivalent of the salary of a paid driver,” said Tom Feeney, president and CEO of Safelite AutoGlass®. “More importantly, our volunteers might be the only smiling faces the Meals-on-Wheels clients see each day. Our associates are making a difference by being involved!”
Associates have shared positive feedback about their experience with LifeCare Alliance and its Meals-on-Wheels program.
“It definitely makes you feel good inside. I decided to volunteer because I had heard about Meals-on-Wheels from a friend who delivers. You become aware of all the people that may be less fortunate than yourself. Helping those people makes you realize you are making a difference even if it is just putting a smile on their face when you knock on the door to deliver their lunch. They really do appreciate it and when you are done with your deliveries, you realize all of that. It’s very satisfying,” said Jenny Kipker, treasury analyst at Safelite AutoGlass®.
She also shared this story: “On our first-time delivery, we struggled with some driving directions. We passed our first stop and had to turn around. In the process, there was a woman standing outside her apartment with her dog. I waved but we continued back to the first stop. It turns out she was our second stop. When we came back to her, she immediately answered and said that she knew it was time for lunch because her dog always recognizes the Safelite AutoGlass® car!”
About LifeCare Alliance
Formed in 1898, LifeCare Alliance is Central Ohio’s first in-home health care agency, Ohio’s first agency to provide visiting nurses, and the nation’s second agency to deliver Meals-on-Wheels. LifeCare Alliance is a not-for-profit organization that provides a comprehensive array of health and nutrition services to older adults and chronically ill or homebound residents of Central Ohio through its signature programs: Meals-on-Wheels, Senior Dining Centers, Wellness Centers, Help-at-Home, Visiting Nurses, Columbus Cancer Clinic, Project OpenHand-Columbus, and Groceries-to-Go. The Agency’s mission is to lead the community in identifying and delivering health and nutrition services to meet the community’s changing needs.
LifeCare Alliance has emerged as a national leader in merger collaborations, having successfully completed four in the last eight years with Meals-on-Wheels of Madison County, Project OpenHand-Columbus, the Columbus Cancer Clinic and IMPACT Safety. These mergers have eliminated or reduced costs and the redundancy of services in Central Ohio, resulting in more funds for programs, enhanced services and an increase in client access to basic needs.
LifeCare Alliance has begun several social entrepreneurship endeavors to provide added funding for our clients, including L.A. Catering, meal sales, corporate wellness programs, immunizations and travel vaccines.