Lola Silvestri is 94 years old and absolutely electric.
Her house is unapologetically covered in bold, pink, damask-print wallpaper and tiny amusing trinkets. She's bubbly and fiercely independent -- and she's ready to eat.
Lola is inviting you to lunch. And it's an honor.
SEE ALSO:6 startling facts about child hunger in the U.S. — and how you can helpLola is one of seven seniors featured in a new campaign from Meals on Wheels, a nationwide network of community-based, nonprofit programs dedicated to providing vulnerable seniors with food and companionship. The campaign, titled "America, Let's Do Lunch," showcases the commanding personalities of Meals on Wheels clients, who share how the program has impacted their lives.
The spots were created with the hope of inspiring a new generation to volunteer with the 62-year-old organization.
An estimated 1 in 6 seniors, or 10 million people, in the United States face hunger. It's a problem Ellie Hollander, president and CEO of Meals on Wheels, says doesn't get enough attention -- mainly because it happens behind closed doors.
"We know we have a huge hunger problem -- and it's growing," she says.
With seniors living longer than ever before, the population of people over the age of 65 is booming nationwide, coming in at a staggering 46 million. It's estimated the senior population will double by 2050, meaning a program like Meals on Wheels will become even more essential to address the epidemic of senior hunger.
Credit: MEals on Wheels/Ad Council/AnomalyBut Meals on Wheels isn't just about feeding seniors who are low-income, unable to prepare food or otherwise in need of a mealtime aid. Hollander says the program is also about providing companionship.
"We have a huge hunger problem -- and it's growing."
More than 15 million seniors -- or 1 in 4 people over age 65 -- are living alone. Meals on Wheels helps curb potential loneliness that comes with that isolation, personalizing food delivery with genuine companionship from volunteers.
Currently, Meals on Wheels relies on a core team of 2 million volunteers to do this work. But that volunteer base is also aging, according to Hollander -- and that's concerning for the organization as a whole.
"Three-quarters of our volunteers are 55 years or older," she says. "We recognized we need to inspire a new generation of volunteers to step up and backfill our current volunteers as they age up and possibly become Meals on Wheels clients themselves."
To goal is to add 1 million additional volunteers to the Meals on Wheels headcount in the next three years. To attract volunteers, Hollander said, the nonprofit is working to reframe how younger generations see aging in America -- and the "America, Let's Do Lunch" campaign is part of that effort.
"To some young people, going to visit a senior in their home seems scary."
Market research done prior to the campaign indicated millennials were especially hesitant to connect with older generations due to stigma. Many of them view aging as depressing, sad and undesirable.
"To some young people, going to visit a senior in their home seems scary," she says. "It turns people off."
For the campaign, which seeks to disrupt this troubling thinking, Meals on Wheels decided to highlight the electric personalities of clients like Lola.
There are also the Spanns, who have been married for 76 years and live in an adorable green house. There's Julius, who uses poetry to help him make sense of the world and of himself. And there's Harvey, a blind musician who has always pushed limits and broken barriers.
Sharing their stories is an effort, Hollander says, to show potential volunteers not only what they could bring to a senior's life, but what a senior can bring to theirs.
"There is mutual value and reward in that human connection."
"For many seniors, the person who volunteers to drop off a hot meal and gives a friendly smile is the only person a senior sees in a given day," Hollander says. "But there is mutual value and reward in that human connection."
"America, Let's Do Lunch" is running online through a dedicated website and via the hashtag campaign #LetsDoLunch. The campaign will also use donated television and radio airtime to showcase stories of seniors.
Meals on Wheels has also enlisted social media influencers to get the message out to young people, recruiting supporters like YouTuber Meghan Camarena and senior social media maven Baddie Winkle.
Credit: MEALS ON WHEELS/AD COUNCIL/ANOMALYThe series of video, radio and photo ads were created in partnership with pro-bono ad agency Anomaly and the Ad Council. Noted photographer Mark Seliger, who had photographed some of the most iconic covers of Rolling Stone, shot the campaign.
To find local volunteer opportunities with Meals on Wheels, visit here to find a program in your local area.
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