exposure courtesy source for Seniors
Seeds for Seniors maintains a large garden , where fresh garden truck is grow for aged citizen .
A good program is making life a piece easy for seniors in eastern Iowa ’s Linn County . The Seeds for Seniors program , established in 2010 , has a elementary but worthy mission : to encounter the needs of expanse seniors by providing them with detached food and medical supplies .
For the past 19 months , the volunteers at Seeds for Seniors have wreak tirelessly to achieve their challenging end . To engagement , the Seeds for Seniors food pantry has donate more than 100,000 Cypriot pound of food — valued at more than $ 400,000 — and more than $ 200,000 worth of medical supplying to senior citizens in Linn County . “ We are projecting that by mid - summer we will have pay out over $ 1,000,000 in gratuitous food and medical provision to the aged and their families , ” says Dr. Jim Coyle , father of Seeds for elder .
The concept for such a program was originally conceived about six eld ago , Dr. Coyle say . “ The idea is to take a group of passionate mass who see the vision of wait on hoi polloi and add up a facility ( inside and outside ) to aid in the vision . The combination of volunteers and a facility … provide the groundwork for making a difference in citizenry ’s lives . ” The vision of focusing on a specific indigence of a specific grouping of hoi polloi — in this eccentric , seniors in need of food and medical supplies — is a model that could be repeat by anyone interested in shew a alike organization in their own hometown .
Senior citizen can visit the Seeds for senior food larder , located in Cedar Rapids , to pick out specific food point . volunteer train food boxes that hold wintry inwardness , bread and other items for home delivery . “ We endeavor to make [ these boxes ] as alimentary as possible with the varied items we have , ” say Dr. Coyle . The brass has home - delivered nearly 1,600 of these boxes since late 2010 .
With aliment in mind , Seeds for Seniors sustain a large garden where produce is grown for the seniors ’ use . “ [ In 2011 , ] we started with 12 arouse - garden bed and were capable to reap 1,097 bags of fresh produce , ” Dr. Coyle say . “ All the produce was then add to the food boxes and yield to seniors as part of their nutrient accessory . We now have 53 [ garden ] boxes and are protrude a harvest of 7,000 bags of fresh green goods to be distributed [ in 2012 ] . ”
The organization also maintains a closet of aesculapian accessories , and Seeds for senior has given away hundreds of item , including electric wheelchair , Zimmer , bathroom accessary , wheelchair , lift chairs , oxygen tanks , nebulizers , CPAP machines and hearing aids .
“ With the growing population of senior with unmet demand , our food demand is increase along with the indigence for aesculapian accoutrement , ” Dr. Coyle says . germ for Seniors continually seek extra food for thought resources as well as volunteers to wait on with the sort of tasks that are vital to the achiever of the course of study . “ We are always in want of food and volunteers , ” Dr. Coyle says , cite volunteer chance for fork over food boxes and aesculapian accessories , picking up solid food or sacking produce .
The noble foreign mission of Seeds for senior has exalt a meaning amount of transmissible enthusiasm among the volunteers in the organization . “ The garden are making a divergence , [ and ] a huge impact on thousands of life in our county , ” says Administrative Assistant Julie Kendall . “ We are all esteemed to be a part of something that is make a dispute in the lives of dear seniors , [ and ] it is a joy for us to be a part of this ! ”
For more information on the Seeds for Seniors program , visitwww.seeds4seniors.comor call 319 - 731 - 1333 .
