Harrah’s Employees are H.E.R.O.s

H.E.R.O.s, an acronym for Harrah’s Employees Reaching Out, recently awarded $20 thousand to the Pinal County Area on Aging. These funds will be used to launch the first Meals on Wheels program in the City of Maricopa. The program will provide two meals a day, five days a week, to more than 20 individuals currently in need. The meals will be delivered directly to the homes of elderly people in Maricopa and its surrounding communities.

H.E.R.O. is an employee-based volunteer program at Harrah’s Phoenix Ak-Chin Casino Resort. “These communities were in need of a Meals on Wheels program, but the funding wasn’t there to start one,” said Tom Cook, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Harrah’s Ak-Chin. “We are very excited to be a part of the first Meals on Wheels program and to participate in the national Meals on Wheels commitment Harrah’s has made for 2004.” Nationally, Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., which was founded 66 years ago, has donated nearly $2 million to Meals on Wheels.

Olivia Guerrero, CEO of the Pinal-Gila Council for Senior Citizens, said, “This donation has made a difference in the lives of people who would not have been served otherwise. We never could have done it without Harrah’s help.”

Historically, Meals on Wheels began during World War II. During the German Blitz of England, many people lost their homes and their ability to cook meals for themselves. The Women’s Volunteer Service for Civil Defense prepared and delivered meals to their disadvantaged neighbors. These women also brought refreshments in canteens to servicemen. The canteens became known as “Meals on Wheels”. The first organized nutrition program had begun.

Seniors in assisted living facilities receive nutritional meals. Many of those living alone are not so fortunate.

In the U. S., the first home-delivered meal program began in Philadelphia in 1954. Starting with seven seniors, the program today serves millions of the elderly, half of whom are estimated to live below the poverty level. The growth in the elderly population has increased the demand for meal services. According to recent census figures, the numbers of the elderly will more than double between now and the year 2050 to 80 million. Those age 85 and older are the most rapidly growing group. They numbered three million in 1994 and are expected to number 19 million by 2050 according to the Meals on Wheels Association of
America.