Voluntary Action Center is restoring Tuesday meal service

DeKALB – A successful online fundraising campaign and a local contractor who matched up to $17,500 worth of Go Fund Me donations has resulted in restoration of Tuesday meal delivery services for the Voluntary Action Center.

The social service agency cut Tuesday delivery service earlier this month because of a lack of state funding. More than 60 people gave online, with donations totaling $34,160. More people went directly to the agency to give off-line, which pushed donations over the goal of $34,500, including the matched funds.

“My mother got Meals on Wheels for a while,” said Steve Irving, president of Irving Construction, who kicked off the campaign along with his wife, T.J. “It bothered us to think that there would be a lot of older people denied that service one day a week.”

VAC, the social service agency that provides public transportation and Meals on Wheels service in DeKalb County, is one of many local nonprofit agencies struggling to keep providing services without assistance from the state of Illinois.

Money for many nonprofits has not been disbursed because state lawmakers and Gov. Bruce Rauner have been unable to agree on a new budget plan for fiscal 2016. The fiscal 2015 budget expired June 30.

The agency needed $34,500 to restore Tuesday meal services through the rest of the fiscal 2016.

Tuesday meal deliveries were suspended Nov. 3.

The Irving family offered to match donated funds up to $17,250.

“In a week, we met our goal and quickly surpassed it,” Rogers said. “We are still getting contributions. I was amazed at the number of people who would show up at the door or donate on the Go Fund Me.”

The agency also cut its senior lunch program earlier this year, which won’t be returning, Rogers said.

“The state budget problem certainly didn’t help,” Rogers said. “But with the senior lunch program, we simply couldn’t sustain the level of service when dealing with less funding and decreased enrollment.”

Meals on Wheels serves 600 to 700 people a year in DeKalb County, most of them seniors on fixed incomes throughout DeKalb, Sycamore, Cortland, Sandwich, Malta and Somonauk.

About 50 people are on the waiting list for services, but the agency is looking to reduce that number.

“We’re hoping to get that to 35, if not lower,” said Ellen Rogers, interim executive director of the agency. “We’re looking at starting 10 [people] next week.”

Irving said he was surprised at how quickly people stepped up to help.

“It just makes me real proud of the community,” Irving said. “Especially when you hear of other agencies struggling, it’s just very satisfying to see this particular one reach its goal so quickly.”