The first month of the year has already passed, and it seems like January was nothing but a whirlwind (maybe even a tornado) at our office, as we hustled to wrap up our fiscal year and evaluate 2018 final service numbers. And after reviewing our 2018, it’s clear that our hard work resulted in many accomplishments of which our staff and volunteers should be extremely proud:
- Number of meals served: 209,000 16% more meals were served than in 2017!
- Number of clients served: 2,341 7% increase
- Number of volunteers: 480 9% increase
- Volunteers hours donated: 29,639 11% increase
- Volunteer miles driven: 95,604 8% increase
We clearly had a huge year in 2018, helping seniors from Prosser to Tri-Cities to Connell, and all points between. Increasing the number of meals we serve by 16% in one year comes with big impact on our agency in so many ways. Our volunteers, literally the heart and soul of our organization, are pushed to work harder and more often. Our staff, dedicated and committed to our cause, is also pushed to take on more responsibility and to increase efficiency in order for us to grow our program without overextending our budget.
2019 brings many exciting challenges and new opportunities. We’re starting a couple new pilot programs, CRIMP (Community Rapid Intervention Meal Program) and Moneta Project, and we’re exploring how we might improve our service to our seniors in a couple different areas. And as always, we’ll be doing our best to help our local seniors remain independent and in their homes as long as possible.
Happy Valentine’s Day to you all!