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KEEPING SENIORS AND THEIR PETS TOGETHER

Because you can't underestimate
the value of a pet's love

KEEPING SENIORS AND THEIR PETS TOGETHER

Because you can't underestimate
the value of a pet's love

    SUPPORT THE PETS
    WHO SUPPORT OUR SENIORS

    Research shows that seniors with pets are less likely to exhibit depression and experience illness, and that animal ownership can help to address loneliness and social isolation – issues that are often exacerbated among older adults. But taking care of a pet – feeding, grooming and veterinary care – can be financially and physically burdensome to seniors. More often than not, a devoted animal lover with limited access to food will feed their hungry pet before they feed themselves.

    One in four seniors lives alone, and for some seniors, the Meals on Wheels volunteer who provides them with a nutritious meal, friendly visit and safety check may be the only person they see all day. Their pet is their main companion and best friend, so we recognize how important it is to keep seniors and their pets together. In fact, Meals on Wheels America surveyed our local member programs in 2019 and found that roughly half of them provide pet services of some kind, most commonly providing pet food deliveries to homebound clients. Pet assistance programs have become an increasingly common extension of Meals on Wheels’ “more than just a meal” offering, because we know that there are myriad health and wellness benefits linked to animal ownership and the companionship and sense of purpose pets provide to seniors.

     

    That’s why Meals on Wheels supports both our seniors and their pets – to ensure that they can live nourished, healthy lives, together.

    PETS MAKE SENIORS HAPPIER AND HEALTHIER

       Senior man with dog

    SENIORS WITH PETS

    Pet Facts

    COMPARED TO NON-PET OWNERS


    Sources: Stanley, I. H., Conwell, Y., Bowen, C., & Van Orden, K. A. (2014). Pet Ownership may Attenuate Loneliness Among Older Adult Primary Care Patients Who Live Alone. Aging & Mental Health, 18(3), 394–399. http://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2013.837147; Siegel, J.M. (1990). Stressful life events and use of physician services among the elderly: The moderating role of pet ownership. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 1081-1086.

    OUR GRANTS HELP KEEP SENIORS AND PETS TOGETHER

    In October 2015, Banfield Charitable Trust handed over all funding and grants administration responsibilities for their Pet Assistance Grant Program to Meals on Wheels America. Between 2007 and 2019, the grant program distributed more than $2.4 million in funding and pet food donations to 330 local Meals on Wheels programs across the nation to keep pets and their homebound seniors together.

    That work has since expanded via a national partnership with PetSmart Charities initiated in the fall of 2019. Together, over the following three years, we are committed to investing in local Meals on Wheels  programs in order to launch and expand pet support resources in more communities across the country. In 2020 alone, two specialized grant programs awarded $454,500 in funding to 122 Meals on Wheels providers in 36 states—with one grant program targeting communities most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and other natural disasters. We are also undertaking a major research initiative to better understand what Meals on Wheels clients and their pets need, and how local Meals on Wheels programs are uniquely able to support seniors and their pets aging in place together.

    MEALS ON WHEELS AND PET SERVICES IN THE NEWS

    All News

    PETSMART CHARITIES® COMMITS LARGEST GIFT TO-DATE OF $3 MILLION TO MEALS ON WHEELS AMERICA TO BENEFIT SENIORS AND THEIR PETS

    Sep 17, 2019

    PETSMART CHARITIES AND MEALS ON WHEELS AMERICA ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP TO HELP KEEP HOMEBOUND SENIORS AND THEIR PETS TOGETHER DURING TIMES OF CRISIS

    Phoenix, AZ – September 10, 2019 – One-in-four seniors live alone, often with a pet as their only source of comfort. With nearly 7 million seniors living at or below the poverty line, many are finding it increasingly difficult to support themselves – let alone a pet. Meals on Wheels America, the leading organization dedicated to addressing senior isolation and hunger, says thousands of their pet-owning clients will forgo their own resources to ensure their pets are fed before even taking a bite of a delivered meal themselves.

    To help address these issues, PetSmart Charities, the leading funder of animal welfare in North America, has committed $3 million to Meals on Wheels America to fund a three-year partnership that will support a national pet food pantry and veterinary care program to provide home-delivered meals and veterinary care to pets of home-bound seniors. Funds also will support research to help both organizations better understand the needs of Meals on Wheels clients and their pets. The partnership will be the first of its kind supported on a nationwide scale and is the largest gift from PetSmart Charities in its 25-year history.

    “As an organization dedicated to supporting pets and the people who love them, PetSmart Charities is proud to partner with Meals on Wheels America to help keep seniors and their pets living healthier lives together,” said Deborah Turcott, acting president of PetSmart Charities. “We know there is a large population of seniors struggling to make ends meet and facing the difficult choice of going hungry or surrendering their beloved pet. This partnership will help ensure they won’t have to make that choice.”

    “PetSmart Charities’ unprecedented generosity will support our ongoing efforts to deliver so much more than just a meal to our nation’s most vulnerable older adults,” said Ellie Hollander, President and CEO, Meals on Wheels America. “We know that seniors with pets are less likely to exhibit depression, report feelings of loneliness and experience illness, and our partnership will enable more of these invaluable, mutually-supportive relationships to be sustained in communities across America for years to come.”

    Funding from the PetSmart Charities grant will also allow local Meals on Wheels programs to expand existing pet programs and improve access to pet care to include preventive medical care, temporary pet boarding, dog walking and grooming.

    For more information on Meals on Wheels America, please visit www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org. For more information on PetSmart Charities and how grants are making an impact across North America, please visit www.petsmartcharities.org.

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    ABOUT MEALS ON WHEELS AMERICA
    Meals on Wheels America is the leadership organization supporting the more than 5,000 community-based programs across the country that are dedicated to addressing senior isolation and hunger. This network serves virtually every community in America and, along with more than two million staff and volunteers, delivers the nutritious meals, friendly visits and safety checks that enable America’s seniors to live nourished lives with independence and dignity. By providing funding, leadership, education, research and advocacy support, Meals on Wheels America empowers its local member programs to strengthen their communities, one senior at a time. For more information, or to find a Meals on Wheels provider near you, visit www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org.

    ABOUT PETSMART CHARITIES®
    PetSmart Charities, Inc. is committed to finding lifelong, loving homes for all pets by supporting programs and thought leadership that bring people and pets together. Through its in-store adoption program in all PetSmart® stores across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, PetSmart Charities helps to find forever homes and families for more than 600,000 shelter pets each year. Each year, millions of generous PetSmart shoppers help pets in need by donating to PetSmart Charities using the PIN pads at checkout registers inside PetSmart stores. In turn, PetSmart Charities efficiently uses more than 90 cents of every dollar donated to fulfill its role as the leading funder of animal welfare in North America, granting almost $400 million since its inception in 1994. Independent from PetSmart Inc., PetSmart Charities is a 501(c)(3) organization that has received the Four-Star Rating from Charity Navigator, a third-party organization that reports on the effectiveness, accountability and transparency of nonprofits, for the past 16 years in a row – placing it among the top one percent of charities rated by this organization. To learn more visit www.petsmartcharities.org.

    Follow PetSmart Charities on Instagram: @PetSmartCharities 
    Follow PetSmart Charities on Twitter: @PetSmartChariTs 
    Find PetSmart Charities on Facebook: Facebook.com/PetSmartCharities 
    See PetSmart Charities on YouTube: YouTube.com/PetSmartCharitiesInc

    Media Contacts:

    PetSmart Charities
    Yosha Brunson Kuhl, 623-587-2177
    yobrunson@petsmart.com

    Meals on Wheels America
    Jenny Young, 571-339-1603
    press@mealsonwheelsamerica.org

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    THE NEED FOR SENIOR PET SUPPORT IS GROWING


    Seniors are the fastest growing population in this country and with that growth comes the perpetual increase in demand for Meals on Wheels services. As more seniors live longer and choose to age in place, the need for pet assistance will increase right along with the population trends.

    Together, we can ensure that homebound seniors do not have to give up their beloved pets simply because they can’t make it to the vet or to the store to purchase food. To contact a local Meals on Wheels program and learn more about what pet services they may offer and how you can help, click here, enter your zip code and connect with the program nearest you.

    HELPING A PET LEAVES A SENIOR FEELING NOURISHED, TOO 

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