Embrace Iowa fund helps Iowan deliver Meals on Wheels, care for elderly mother
To supplement her Social Security benefits, last winter 73-year-old Cynthia Page had a part-time job driving 200 miles per week delivering Meals on Wheels in southeast Iowa.
The job paid minimum wage, and when Page needed new tires to safely drive her delivery route in the winter, she didn’t have enough money to pay for them.
That’s when the Embrace Iowa campaign stepped in with a grant to help Page cover the cost of new tires.
The Embrace Iowa campaign — sponsored by the Ames Tribune, Burlington Hawk Eye, Des Moines Register and Iowa City Press-Citizen — helps Iowans with grants of up to $750 to pay for things that fall outside of standard assistance programs such as car repairs, beds, working appliances or medical expenses.
Embrace Iowa applicants apply through 16 local Community Action Agencies serving all 99 counties across the state. First-time applicants are given priority in the review process, and applicants must be at or below 200 percent of federal poverty guidelines.
Page recently quit the job with Meals on Wheels so she can help take care of her 91-year-old mother, who lives alone. The tires are still important for Page, who drives more than 30 miles per day, heading to her mom’s place in Ottumwa to check on her at least twice daily, plus taking her to appointments and on errands.
“Now that I don’t have my job, I’m even more strapped because I just have Social Security,” Page says. “I think it’s wonderful that so many people have donated to this program. It has really helped me.”
How you can to donate to Embrace Iowahelp
This holiday season, you can make a difference in the lives of your Iowa neighbors by helping Embrace Iowa raise $410,000 in the 2021 campaign.
You can donate to Embrace Iowa online at iowacommunityaction.org/about/donate. Or checks can be mailed to Embrace Iowa, P.O. Box 41608, Des Moines, IA 50311.
One-hundred percent of donations are used to help the applicants, not to pay staff or agency costs. Donation receipts available upon request for donations under $250; you’ll automatically receive a letter for donations of $250 or more.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Embrace Iowa fund helps Iowan deliver Meals on Wheels, care for mother
