FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Lynn Scherer
               Corporations and Foundations Manager
               Lifelong AIDS Alliance
               206.328.8979
               LynnS@LLAA.org

Grant from Walmart Foundation and Meals On Wheels Association of America Helps Chicken Soup Brigade Feed Hungry Seniors

June 28, 2010, Seattle, WA – Earlier this year Lifelong AIDS Alliance’s Chicken Soup Brigade was awarded $15,000 through a grant from Walmart Foundation and Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA).  This grant, combined with a $40,000 grant from The Employees Community Fund of Boeing Puget Sound helped repair Chicken Soup Brigade’s refrigeration units, which are critical to continue serving seniors and other hungry members of our community.

This financial support was desperately needed as many Meals On Wheels affiliates across the country are struggling to survive during this economic downturn. The Walmart Foundation Impact Grant is intended to help Chicken Soup Brigade continue to meet our long term equipment needs to provided meals to our seniors in King County.

Seattle’s record setting summer temperatures last year were especially challenging for Chicken Soup Brigades refrigeration units, requiring funds to be spent on repairs and for lost food.   “We’re grateful to MOWAA and Walmart Foundation for their generous donation and relieved to know the new units are ready to withstand another warm summer for this and many years to come” said Maurice James, Board President of Lifelong AIDS Alliance.  

Late last year MOWAA released a groundbreaking study revealing six million seniors in America face the risk of hunger.  The report, entitled, “Senior Hunger in the United States: Differences across States and Rural and Urban Areas” was sponsored by MOWAA and shows that the number of seniors facing the hunger risk jumped an astonishing 20 percent in just one year.  The Walmart Impact Grant Program is intended to help combat the problem of senior hunger.

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About Lifelong AIDS Alliance
Our mission statement is clear: Lifelong AIDS Alliance is committed to preventing the spread of HIV, and to providing practical support services and advocating for those whose lives are affected by HIV and AIDS. Since 1983, we have worked to fulfill our mission by providing innovative programs in Medical Nutrition Therapy, health insurance, housing, medical referrals, and other types of assistance to more than 4,000 people each year in the Puget Sound region of Washington State whose lives have been affected by HIV/AIDS and other chronic conditions. About 21,000 more benefit from Lifelong’s educational outreach to create HIV/AIDS awareness and prevent new infections. Lifelong AIDS Alliance is the largest AIDS Service Organization in the Pacific Northwest and the fifth-largest nationwide. Nearly 80% of our clients live on less than $20,000/year, 42% of our clients are from communities of color, 34% of clients receiving nutrition assistance from Chicken Soup Brigade, Lifelong’s nutrition-based hunger relief program, live with illnesses other than HIV/AIDS, and nearly all need specialized assistance that only Lifelong can provide. Helping vulnerable people access healthy food is essential to our mission and Chicken Soup Brigade plays an important part in that effort. For more information, visit www.LLAA.org.

About Philanthropy at Walmart  
Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are proud to support the charitable causes that are important to customers and associates in their own neighborhoods. Through its philanthropic programs and partnerships, the Walmart Foundation funds initiatives focused on creating opportunities in education, workforce development, economic opportunity, environmental sustainability, and health and wellness. From February 1, 2008 through January 31, 2009, Walmart – and its domestic and international foundations – gave more than $423 million in cash and in-kind gifts globally. To learn more, visit www.walmartfoundation.org.