Help Seniors this Holiday Season

The holidays are a time of sharing, laughter and enjoyment. However the story is not always the same for our Meals on Wheels seniors.  These homebound seniors often feel alone, forgotten and may even become depressed. Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston is committed to ensuring each Meals on Wheels senior has a warm meal and a holiday gift bag to cheer their spirits. 

We can't do this alone!  We serve more than 4,000 Meals on Wheels seniors and want to make sure they each receive a small gift this holiday season. You can help us make a difference in the lives of a senior this holiday.  Your donation of basic necessity items or small gifts will help seniors enjoy their days. You can drop off items at our office, 3303 Main Street or just order something from our Walmart wish list. You can also visit our webpage for a complete list of items and more information.

A Thought to Ponder from the President & CEO

This September marks the beginning of my 42nd year working for non-profits. And, as perhaps a bit of coincidence, it also marks my 42nd wedding anniversary. While I've worked at a number of wonderful organizations, I've been fortunate to have my one and only wife - Alyson, by my side. I've had a great career and a very good marriage. I hope that Alyson agrees!

There is something very sweet about being secure in relationships. It's awfully nice to know that each day your spouse will be there to support you and to put up with your idiosyncrasies. Lord knows, I have plenty. As many of you know, I have known Alyson for most of my life, having grown up together in Levittown, Pa.

I am sure there are some of you who wonder how we keep things fresh. Well, we wonder about that too. There are times when I know that each of us questions what life would have been like if we did not have one another. We have pregnant pauses when there's not much to say. We know each other almost too well.

But like my career, every day brings new challenges and opportunities. At work, there's never a boring day. Stuff flies at me with abandon, and it's my bedrock principles and values that ultimately make it possible for me to face whatever may come.

At home, things are much more serene, mostly, and it's the knowledge that I have the one steady force in my life that helps me be at peace. Family pressures come and go; but it is the quirky stuff of love and relationship that makes life worthwhile.

Do I have regrets? Sure. We're far from perfect. But would I change anything? Not on your life.

Talk to you next month.

Elliot Gershenson President & CEO
Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston
713.533.4901
3303 Main St. Houston, TX 77002

Government Cuts Impact IM’s Meals on Wheels Program

 For more than 44 years, Interfaith Ministries’ Meals on Wheels for Greater Houston has been delivering meals to homebound seniors, last year serving on average 4,500 seniors each day. IM's program received $500,000 less in funding this year due to the recent sequester and other government cuts. Because of this, IM’s Meals on Wheels has reduced the number of seniors served to 4,200 through natural attrition.  IM also has a waitlist of approximately 700 seniors. While we are serving fewer seniors, we are are fortunate to not have to take any senior off our program. We are only adding seniors at a slower rate.

Across the country, Meals on Wheels programs are slashing staff, reducing the number of meals delivered or even shutting their doors. According to March 1 estimates from Meals on Wheels Association of America, the sequester will result in a national average of 5.6 percent decrease in Meals on Wheels programs, threatening nearly 75,000 seniors across the country. 

These cuts come at a difficult time for organizations serving seniors as the population is aging at an unprecedented rate. Baby boomers are turning 65 at a rate of 10,000 per day or approximately 3.7 million per year. IM has already begun to experience this boom as the number of inquiry calls doubled  last year.

IM is working on many fronts to cut costs and increase fundraising to ensure that no senior goes hungry. IM has joined forces with the Meals on Wheels Association of America to restore pre-sequester funding levels for the Older Americans Act (OAA) Nutrition Program. Several weeks ago, the Senate Committee on Appropriations’ passed a bill that, if enacted into law, would achieve this goal. Two weeks ago, our coalition helped to secure 64 Representatives’ signatures on a letter supporting funding for OAA Nutrition Programs including Representatives Gene Green (TX-29) and Shelia Jackson Lee (TX-18) from Houston.

Your support of our Meals on Wheels programs are truly appreciated. We will keep you informed of opportunities for you to contact your representatives and support our efforts as we fight to restore OAA funding for the federal budget year that begins October 1^st.

If you would like to make a donation to help fund our Meals on Wheels program, please click here. Thank you for being an important member of the movement to end senior hunger in Houston!

Help Our Seniors Keep Cool This Summer

Houston is the middle of a scorching summer and we are all trying to escape from the heat. While it is important for everyone to try to stay cool, it's also imperative that we check on our elderly neighbors during this time. The senior population is highly prone to heat related illnesses and sometimes needs extra help.

At Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston's Meals on Wheels, we see many seniors without air conditioning or even a fan leaving our seniors in stressful situations. Since they are also homebound, our seniors can't escape their homes to spend time in an air conditioned place like a library or mall.

You can help our seniors overcome this season of high temperatures by encouraging them to do the following:

• Drink Plenty Water- avoid alcoholic beverages and high sugary beverages and make sure to add ice if you can

• Replace Salt and Minerals- sweating causes us to lose these needed nutrients so drink beverages such as sports drinks that replenish your body

• Wear Appropriate Clothing and Sunscreen

• Use a Cold Compress


You can also help our seniors by donating fans to keep cool by visiting IM’s Wal-Mart wish list and donating to one of our Meals on Wheels seniors. If you want to read more about heat safety visit the Center for Disease Control’s website.

A Thought to Ponder from the President & CEO

We are in the middle of Ramadan, the month-long spiritual journey that Muslims go on each year. Ramadan moves a bit back in time each year so this year our Muslim friends are fasting all day long, from before sunrise to sunset in the heat of the summer. Every day for a month. For those of us who do not follow this practice, it's very hard to appreciate the spiritual power it takes. However, I think we can all appreciate the holiness that such fasting embodies. Fasting can be a cleansing experience - learning to handle the pangs of hunger can teach one to sympathize with those who are hungry every day. So I offer my prayers that this Ramadan is both meaningful and spiritually fulfilling for all our Muslim friends.



Which takes me to another subject that calls for a bit of sacrifice. IM is part of many coalitions that work for the betterment of our city and region. One such coalition has formed called the Early to Rise Campaign. Houston is at a crossroads. We are the most diverse city in the US and that provides us unique opportunities and challenges. One of the challenges is to ensure that all of our kids (from all faiths, ethnicities and backgrounds) have a great start to their educational endeavors. With years of data and now a very strong and broad group of community, business and faith leaders aboard, the Early to Rise Campaign is about raising sufficient funding year after year to assure that our youngest children are prepared for school so that we will have a well educated populace to fill the jobs of a vibrant future Houston. In other words, if we are to maintain our reputation as a city on the move, attracting and sustaining the best companies and start-ups, we need to have the best educated workforce not just today, but in ten, twenty and thirty years.



Who can argue with that? Well the Campaign is about getting signatures from thousands of Harris County residents who agree that a one penny increase per $100 of property tax valuation is worth assuring that all our kids get the right start.



James Calaway, a former Board member of IM, is leading this effort. You can click here to learn more. If you so choose, you can help them get the 78,000 signatures necessary to get this on the November ballot by signing the petition. If you are so moved, please bring this to your congregations, civic clubs, and any other place where you feel people might be motivated to help make sure that truly no child is left behind.



Thank you for considering your part in this worthy endeavor.



Talk to you next month,

Elliot Gershenson
President & CEO
Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston

A Thought to Ponder from the President & CEO

This past Sunday was Father's Day and I spent some time reflecting on what it means to be a father. I am the proud Dad to two great kids and a grandfather (called Zeyde in Yiddish) to five. I hope I have been a good Dad and Zeyde, and I guess time will tell. Parenting has changed a lot since I was a kid, which I think is a good thing. Parenting is much more of a shared experience for most these days, and my sense is that as hard as everyone now works, it reflects a better value system when both parents share the raising of their kids more or less equally.
Being a good parent is mostly about being a good role model. Showing kindness and respect for your family and neighbors teaches our kids to be caring and considerate human beings. A parent's chief role is to instill values that will mold a child's sense of self. Too many of our kids feel entitled and don't know how to deal with failure or disappointments. Life can be sweet, but no life is without its sorrows. Teaching a child to be resilient is a good thing to do.

Finding balance in parenting is not easy. And it's not all that easy to know when we've hit the sweet spot. I've learned that it is never too late to be a good parent - no matter how old our kids might be. And, I hope to see the results by watching the reflections of their lives trickle in and out of my own.
I hope your Father's Day was a good one.


WE'VE MOVED!!

It's been two whole weeks since we moved into our new wonderful space at 3303 Main Street and we are now settling in. We have a lot to do over the next eight to ten months as we build our new conference center and construct our new Meals on Wheels Distribution Center across the street.

Things are coming together nicely. Our fundraising is moving forward and we are on track towards our goal of $12.5 million. There are still a number of naming opportunities and I'd love to visit with you about them. I am so thankful to those who have already stepped forward. If you'd like to visit, please call me at 713-533-4901 and I will give you a personal tour! Everyone who has visited our new space has told me how proud they are that IM will finally be able to fulfill its mission to be a safe gathering place for the community.

Nothing pleases me more than assuring that we feed Houston's home-bound seniors; we resettle hundreds of refugees each year; we coordinate the work of Houston's faith community in times of disaster; and we shepherd Houston's faith community through dialogue and service so that we utilize our talents around the shared beliefs that makes us who we are. Houston is a stronger community when we all feel part of the fabric of our city and region. IM will keep doing its part!

Talk to you next month.


Elliot Gershenson
President & CEO
Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston

Florence's Story



Interfaith Ministries Meals on Wheels program helps seniors like Florence receive nutritiously balanced meals. “I’m very, very grateful to receive the meals, whatever I do takes a very…very long time.” Her main meal of the day is her Meals on Wheels meal. Her meals consist of breakfast, Meals on Wheels and 2 snacks for the day.


Florence lives alone and has two sons, both 100 miles away. One son has been retired for a few years. He used to visit every week but with a truck as his transportation and the increased price of gas it’s become too expensive. In addition he and his wife have health issues, limiting his visits to every 3 weeks or so.

Her husband passed away in 1999 but had been ill for 12 years. Florence, his only caregiver, was 75 when he passed away. She thought she was in perfect health but her health declined the moment he died.

Although she has lived in her home for over 41 years, she had to be placed in assisted living a few months for a period of time. “It would literally kill me if I had to stay permanently (in an assisted living facility). To move from a 3 bedroom home to a ½ of a room with someone who is possibly very ill. Very unpleasant.”

Florence was recently placed on a walker to help her maneuver from one room to another and stand straight. Due to her very weak back, attempting to cook a meal in the kitchen is both painful and uncomfortable.

“I eat very little, 5 small meals. I lose a lot of weight. The main reason is because of diabetes. I’m responsible to eat 35 times a week, I think with numbers. Since I eat 5 times a day it would be very hard to manage without. Without Meals on Wheels I’d probably end up eating a frozen meal every day.”

You can help seniors like Florence stay independent and healthy.  Donate or volunteer today!