By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD — As the summer heat intensifies and the demand for senior nutritional support hits record highs, Sparklight stepped up Tuesday, June 16, to deliver a vital $7,500 financial boost to the Southeastern Arizona Community Unique Services (SEACUS) organization.
The grant, funded through the Sparklight Charitable Giving Fund, is explicitly earmarked to support the local Meals-on-Wheels program, which has seen an increase in vulnerable, homebound clients across the Gila Valley.
Sparklight Field Operations Manager Stephan Kingston presented the check directly to SEACUS leadership at the Safford Senior Center. He emphasized that the company’s regional leadership reviews hundreds of applications from across its Southwest Division and selects only a handful of impactful organizations twice a year.
“We do it twice a year, so I would submit every single time,” Kingston urged local non-profits, pointing out that Safford competes against systems in Bisbee, Globe-Miami, Prescott, Payson, and Lakeside for the funding pool. “(We are) just so grateful for the Meals-on-Wheels, the senior center. You know we appreciate it. Like I said, just keep putting in the forms, and we’ll be glad to donate to your communities.”
Mitigating Rising Costs of a Growing Operation
For SEACUS Executive Director Stephanie Nabor and her staff, the financial injection could not have arrived at a better time. High food inflation, rising packaging costs, and volatile gas prices have significantly strained the non-profit’s operating budget at a time when the senior population needs it most.
“This Sparklight grant will be specifically used for our home-delivered meals program,” Nabor said. “Right now, we’re serving a higher number than we served in the past, and it grows and grows on a weekly basis — the demand and the need. And so this will help us to be able to continue serving at our current capacity and be able to enroll new clients as we see fit.”
According to Nabor, the Safford center prepares and packages between 1,100 and 1,200 home-delivered meals every single month. That staggering number does not even account for the center’s daily congregate dining room, which serves an additional 1,000 to 1,200 senior meals monthly to residents seeking food and fellowship.
“This will go specifically to support us in that program—meal cost, packaging cost, delivering cost,” Nabor said.
A Critical Need for Volunteer Drivers
While the Sparklight grant secures funding for ingredients and individual packaging, the meals cannot reach a senior’s doorstep without a dedicated network of delivery drivers.
Meals-on-Wheels Program Manager Carla Clark issued an urgent appeal to the community, noting that the program is actively seeking dependable volunteer drivers to keep up with the mounting routes.
“What I would like to add is if there’s anyone that’s interested in volunteering for our Meals-on-Wheels program to drive, we are really looking for volunteer drivers,” Clark said.
What Delivery Entails:
The commitment is highly manageable, taking up less than two hours out of a volunteer’s morning.
- The Schedule: Drivers arrive at the senior center around 9:15 a.m. to review their designated route sheet for the day and count out individual sides, salads, and rolls.
- The Shift: Vehicles are fully loaded and on the road by 9:30 a.m. Most routes are wrapped up, and drivers return to the center by 11:00 a.m.
- The Flexibility: “Even if they just want to do like one day a week, we make it work,” Clark noted.
How to Become a Driver:
To protect the safety and well-being of the vulnerable seniors on the routes, volunteers must complete a standard vetting process. Prospective drivers must provide a valid driver’s license and proof of vehicle insurance, obtain a Level 1 fingerprint clearance card, and take a routine TB skin test, which can be completed right next door at the local health department.
To help offset the personal cost of fuel, SEACUS officially provides a mileage reimbursement of 58 cents per mile, calculated and paid to its volunteer drivers monthly.
Anyone with a clean driving record and a desire to help local seniors navigate the summer heat with a hot meal is encouraged to stop by the Safford Senior Center or contact SEACUS directly at (928) 428-3229 to pick up an application packet.
