Gala of Giving

Aging Matters in Brevard's Old Hollywood Gala

Glitz, Glam & Giving are my favorites, in the most humbling way! Any chance to dress up, you know it will be a fun time. However, it is even more rewarding when you are doing it for a great cause. 

When a senior needs to have their meals prepared, the cost to provide this is roughly $30 per week. Preparing meals for seniors means that many big things need to happen.

First, our partnership with the Brevard Community Kitchen in Cocoa, FL needs to staff their building with volunteers and also order accurate portions of food to feed everyone. Without the help of volunteers, it is nearly impossible to achieve all that the kitchen does (preparing the day's number of meals serving, preparing cold foods, serving on a food assembly line, packaging meals into heated cases or coolers, washing dishes, and cleaning down the kitchen to prepare for tomorrow's volunteers). Over the years, they have put it down to the science of not only how much food to cook to fill each tray, but also which meals will give our seniors the most nutritional value possible. 

Second, delivering the meals! A crew of volunteers from Meals on Wheels will pick up cases of both hot and cold foods to deliver to a route of seniors designated to their chosen area. This position is so important, and the seniors truly look forward to seeing them! Sometimes you may be a senior's only visitor! Your bright and smiling face may be all they need to feel a sense of connection with someone. They sometimes need your help with opening their milk too. I am always willing to go above and beyond to assist the best I can. 

Lastly, there are many overhead expenses that are not funded, and donations really help so much to make these things possible. 

Let's See How We Did!

At the 2023 Gala, we were able to raise over $130k!!! That is phenomenal. 

Our Call of the Heart asked for donations... and we were able to raise $50k. This made it possible to take 33 seniors off the waiting list, to start receiving meals. 

We had many partnerships... from Viera Community, Home Instead Senior Care, Essential Net Solutions, Community Credit Union, Brownings, St. Francis Reflections, UBS, Lotane & Associates, and Smart City Telecom. Thank you so much to all the sponsors, businesses who donated baskets and the Gala guests who came and made these accomplishments possible!

This year's Gala tickets included Dinner, Full Bar, Silent Auction, Raffles & amazing Jazzy entertainment. Stay tuned for information about attending next year's event!

For more information about Meals on Wheels, Aging Matters or any of their affiliates, visit https://agingmattersbrevard.org/