Around Town

With Two Generous Gifts, Meals on Wheels of New Canaan Boosts Accessibility, Outreach

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Thanks to a pair of generous donations, including from town resident Paul Simon, one of New Canaan’s most essential human services providers is ramping up its efforts to serve clients even better. Meals on Wheels of New Canaan, a volunteer organization established in 1972, operates out of Waveny Care Center and pays its expenses largely through an annual campaign each March, according to Cindy Herbert, president of the nonprofit’s Board of Directors. Within the last year, two unexpected things happened. First, Meals on Wheels in the summer received a $20,000 gift through a private foundation, then in December, Simon following a concert for the Michael J. Fox Foundation directed a $100,000 gift to Meals on Wheels, Herbert said. (Simon’s wife, Edie Brickell, volunteers as a Meals on Wheels delivery driver.)

The funds have gone right back into the organization, in the form of upgrades to food packaging and availability, as well as a new position within Meals on Wheels that’s designed to boost its reach and effectiveness, Herbert said.