“Does anyone know the significance of the number 1,105 today?” Mike Smith asked the crowd of Senior Resource Association supporters who had gathered at the Riomar Golf Club for dinner, following the sixth annual Charity Pro-Am Golf Tournament.
“It represents the last time you played the SRA Charity Tournament here, 1,105 days ago,” said Smith, event co-chair with wife Sassy, commenting on several pandemic postponements.
“So here we are, 1,105 days later, back together again for the Pro-Am. Through all this time, two things have remained incredibly constant. Our seniors’ needs, that actually have grown.
And the second thing, it gives me chills to say, is that all of you continued to give throughout 2020 and throughout 2021, as if the tournament was still being played,” said Smith.
Through their generosity, he said, Meals on Wheels trucks continued to be a lifeline to hundreds of local homebound seniors.
Smith also recognized the event committee, sponsors, PGA pros and Riomar staff for their parts in the successful event.
Karen Deigl, SRA president/CEO, echoed those sentiments and added her appreciation to the Smiths for their six years leading the event and to her staff for providing essential care to seniors through these difficult times.
“So, what has happened during those 1,105 days? A lot, as we all know,” said Deigl, noting that the number of people receiving meals has increased more than 80 percent.
“We are now doing 450 meals on a daily basis. We couldn’t do it without the volunteers, let me tell you.”
Although they are currently serving a little more than half the roughly 170 people on the wait list, they cannot accommodate the others.
“It’s not capacity, it’s not because volunteers don’t want to deliver. It’s the funding, as always,” said Deigl. Reiterating her thanks for the unprecedented support shown during the pandemic, she added, “That has benefited so many people in our community.”
A short video spoke to the dichotomy of this community’s great wealth against the large numbers of seniors who have to decide whether to pay for rent, medications or groceries.
Meals on Wheels, a service of SRA for 47 years, is a lifeline, not just for food but as a way to touch base and make sure seniors are safe.
“It’s been an unprecedented time for all of us. COVID really brought to our attention the vulnerability of seniors. We experienced such a high volume of calls from people who needed food,” Deigl said in the video.
While they were fortunate to receive funding from the CARES Act to feed some of the hungry people on the wait list, she said those dollars are going away.
“My fear is that I’m going to have to go to one of those individuals and say, ‘I’m sorry, but we don’t have the money to feed you anymore,’” said Deigl.
Auctioneer Neil Saffer returned to lead another hugely lucrative auction and, after relating the costs to feed one senior for a year, an equally impressive call to the heart.
“That doesn’t just happen; that’s magic,” said Saffer, awed by the response. “The people in this room don’t want to let anyone go hungry. That level of participation shows you care.”
“Your generosity is just unbelievable,” said Smith in agreement. “You’ve been wonderful throughout those 1,105 days and certainly beyond anything we could have dreamt tonight. All I can say is, the need is great, and the people that really need this food are going to be well-served because of you. Please accept our sincere thanks for everything you do for SRA.”
Meals on Wheels is just one of numerous SRA programs for seniors. For more information, visit SeniorResourceAssociation.org.
Photos by Mary Schenkel
