newsletter

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CULVER PALMS MEALS ON WHEELS
NEWSLETTER
Serving nutritious meals to the community since 1974 WINTER 2022
Our Mission
Culver Palms Meals on
Wheels is a movement of
neighbors volunteering to
deliver meals to those who
cannot prepare their own food,
whether due to illness,
accident, disability or age.
Connect With Us
Website:
mealsonwheelsculverpalms.org
Instagram:
mealsonwheels_culverpalms
Facebook:
Culver Palms MOW
Contact Us
Phone: 310-559-0666
Email:
mowculverpalms@gmail.com
Address:
4427 Overland Avenue
Culver City, CA 90230
CPMOW Staff
Pam Frieden –
Executive Director
Suzanne Moller –
Client/Program Coordinator
David Colitre –
Volunteer Coordinator
Marylou Hanna –
Bookkeeper
CPMOW Board
President – Alan Hall
Officers – Amy Chang,
Denise Weddle, Julie West
Members – Cecelia Boskin,
Bonnie Keady,
Andy Weissman
Newsletter
Editor – Julie West
Formatting assistance –
Beth Nadeau
What’s New for 2022
Happy New Year!
CPMOW has an increased Social Media Focus for the new year.
We are making progress on upgrading and expanding our Website,
Instagram, and Facebook presence. We encourage our
volunteers, donors, and clients to digitally connect with us.
Resolve to check us out!
Still wearing masks, but now we have the vaccine and the booster!
CPMOW is continuing to deliver meals to the transitionally housed
people in local motels before they move to more permanent
housing. We are working with the St. Joseph Center who is
sponsoring the meals.
Donated Holiday Gifts and Treats
You Made Possible!
Even Santa helped deliver meals
Volunteer Christie Nittrouer &
daughter
Festive gift bags and contents

2. CPMOW NEWSLETTER WINTER 2022
With Sincere Gratitude…
We extend a Special THANK YOU to All Our Donors who
participated in our Year-end Appeal!
We THANK YOU, Volunteers!
Sandy Schneider – for organizing and stuffing the holiday gift bags for our clients
Caroline Spurgin, Alan Hall, Cecelia Boskin, Brady Graham, Abby Echevarria,
Kathy Mandaville, and Pamela Lawrence – for continuing to make Wellness Calls to our clients
We THANK YOU, Donors!
Holiday Gift Bag item donations
• Culver City Women’s Club – Carole Kanter, Yong Elias, Carol Lonero,
Lacey Riessen, Angie Waller, Pat Harmon, Carol DeSalvo, Judy Lohns, Jean
Lyon, Cathy Reid, and Cecelia Boskin – donated many gift items
• Wish Charter School – donated handmade cards
• Girl Scout Troup #01325 – donated gift items
• Farragut Elementary Pre-K – donated handmade cards & gifts
• Individual Donors – Clara Morales, Del Rey Christian Children’s Center,
Maureen Janmohamed, Maria Elena Rodriguez, Caroline Spurgin, Suzanne Moller,
Deanna Jerrnigan, Jolene Doucette, Terry Shenkman, Suzanne Wood, Joanna Chen, Lesley Althaus,
Grammatico family, Julie West, Martha Keister, Brian P., Pam Frieden
Food & In-kind Donations
• Primo Donuts – donated donuts several times a month for clients
• Grace Lutheran Church “Christian Service Committee” –
donated small pinecone turkeys included in the Thanksgiving meal
THANK YOU from our Clients!
“I wish life in general was as good as MOW” – M.S.
“…your thoughtful Thanksgiving turkey decoration & greeting card welcomed me into this day of
thanks. These have been very difficult days & tomorrow I expect will be more of the same. Thank you
[Pam] & your Gang of Angels for giving me a reason to continue. With warm embrace,” – J.D.
“Thanks for another year of good meals and good friends to make the awful time so much better for
us” Best Wishes – S.D.
“Happy New Year and many thanks to you and your program for making my situation so much
easier…The wonderful stocking stuffers were such a nostalgic memories, whimsy and fun. Ongoing
thanks and please stay safe. You are truly needed!” – Y.H.

3. CPMOW NEWSLETTER WINTER 2022
Client Highlight: Dave Mathis
By Amy Chang; Volunteer delivery driver, food packer, and NEW CPMOW Board Treasurer
Dave greets me with the gentlest smile each time I deliver his food. His peaceful and charismatic
way is more noticeable than the medical equipment that surrounds him. He calls his zone the
‘No Stress Express’.
As a toddler, Dave moved to Los Angeles with his two older sisters. Their parents had passed,
and their Aunt Adnetia welcomed the children to her home near 91st and Normandy, the second
black family on the block! Dave recalls a beautiful childhood; walking to and from school
without a care in the world, enjoying his classes, and watching Sheriff John and Lamb Chop on
TV after school.
Sixty-plus years later, Dave knows Los Angeles like the back of his hand. He has enough stories
and wisdom for a best seller! He loves the rain. That sums up Dave in a nutshell – he sees and appreciates beauty
while average Angelenos like me just see traffic and crazy drivers. To Dave, raindrops on the window, an Earth Wind
and Fire song, and some soul food from Harold & Belle’s would be a lovely day – the Rams winning would be a bonus!
Dave became a CPMOW client in mid-2021. Dave’s sister Regina moved in with her little brother to care for him after
his health declined. Dave was severely underweight for the double lung transplant he needed. After receiving Meals
on Wheels for 6 months, he gained a healthy 40 pounds and satisfied the weight and strength requirements.
However, due to other health concerns, Dave was ultimately denied the procedure. “Well, you can wallow in your
mess, or you can get up and keep moving. Don’t stop ‘til the casket drops!”, Dave shared. Not every day is easy, but
Dave intends to keep moving. He plans to visit the LA Zoo and San Diego’s Sea World.
Thank you, Dave, for candidly sharing your story; we are inspired by your strength, dignity, and faith.
If you would like to learn how you can help Dave, please contact me via Culver Palms Meals on Wheels.
Make a Difference Today – Discover More Ways You Can Help Hungry Seniors
✓ DONATE ONCE: ✓ ASK YOUR EMPLOYER:
mealsonwheelsculverpalms.org/donate To match the gift, you make to CPMOW
✓ DONATE MONTHLY: ✓ HAVE FUN SHOPPING:
By becoming a sustaining monthly donor,
you help ensure the stability and
effectiveness of CPMOW. Donate on the
website by checking “Make this a monthly
donation” and your gift will be charged each
month to your credit card.
Designate CPMOW as your nonprofit of choice
at these companies and they will donate a small
percentage of your purchases to us:
ralphs.com
smile.amazon.com
igive.com
✓ DONATE FOOD ITEMS:
We have very minimal space to store donated food at this time. But if you can drop off something
like fresh fruit (apples, bananas…) that we could give to our clients right away, that would be
great. We can also use a limited amount of Ensure.
Resolve to VOLUNTEER: Substitute Drivers Needed!
Deliver meals one day M–F between 10:30 am and 1:00 pm. Please call
our Volunteer Coordinator Dave at 310-559-0666 to sign up!

4. CPMOW NEWSLETTER WINTER 2022
Note from Executive Director Pam Frieden
Dear Volunteers, Donors, and Friends of Culver Palms Meals on Wheels,
I want to start with a thank you for your volunteerism, donations, and outreach; as we
navigate this current reality, we find ourselves in once again. At CPMOW, we can still serve
hot meals or frozen meals per our client’s request, which was not the case in 2020 (you may
recall we had to overhaul our entire program from hot meals to frozen). However, our goal remains the same:
to maintain the delivery of meals to the homebound while keeping our recipients, volunteers, and staff safe.
The staff is doing a fantastic job getting the meals out, especially with the last-minute changes they receive
from our vendor. (it seems like everyone is experiencing shortages). Still, so far, we can keep up with the
demand. Like you, we have concerns about inflation and rising food costs, but rest assured that our staff and
board members are carefully watching budgetary matters.
I have some real concerns as we see a rise in those needing financial assistance. Unfortunately, their fixed
incomes are not rising as fast as the inflation rate. Approximately 60 of the 155 clients we serve cannot afford
meals.
That is why your contributions are significant, especially since we do not receive government monies. We are
so grateful for every donation you provide. Thank you so much! Here’s to 2022, and may it bring us all good
health and happiness! Pam
We appreciate all our volunteers and donors.
We couldn’t do it without you!
Culver Palms Meals on Wheels
4427 Overland Avenue
Culver City, CA 90230
Together we can deliver so no senior goes hungry!
Serving from Pico Blvd. to LAX and from La Cienega Blvd. to the coast