If you've been following the news, you may know that there is a lot of confusion and fear around the freezing of federal grant money. Like so many nonprofit organizations, we rely on federal funding to fulfill our mission. Most of this federal funding is in the form of grants and contracts.

Our Senior Nutrition Program, which serves thousands of local seniors with weekday lunches at various centers and through Meals on Wheels deliveries, would potentially be impacted by any freezing of federal funding. At the time of this writing, that freeze appears to be halted, but things are moving so quickly that there remains a lot of uncertainty.

We have a contract with the Lewis-Mason-Thurston Area Agency on Aging, which provides federal funding for our Senior Nutrition Program, our Brighter Days Adult Day Program and our Transportation Program. We have received assurances that those programs wil be funded at the agreed level through 2025. However, in this uncertain climate, who knows what may happen.

What can you do about it?

1. Call your US Representative (if you don’t know who that is, find them HERE). You can also reach them through the U.S. Capitol Switchboard 24/7 at: 1-202-224-3121.

Please oppose any pause on federal financial assistance funding ordered by the Office of Management and Budget. Such a pause would do irreparable damage to community organizations that provide critical safety net services to older adults and adults with disabilities, thus threatening the health and safety of these individuals and their families. Congress should maintain the control over funding, not the Administration.

2. Call Senator Patty Murray: 1-202-224 2621 or email her HERE.

3. Call Senator Maria Cantwell: 1-202-224-3441 or email her HERE.

4. Donate to support our vital services. We rely on individual and corporate donations to fund more than $1 Million of our annual budget. Click the button at the top of our website to make a tax-deductible gift online, where you can choose to support us generally or specific programs such as Meals on Wheels. You can make a one time gift or choose to make a monthly gift and become part of our Sustainer's Club. You can also call us directly at (360) 764-7381 if you'd prefer to donate another way, or mail your gift to: Senior Services for South Sound, 222 Columbia St NW, Olympia, WA 98501.

Please know that Senior Services for South Sound is a non-partisan organization providing services to seniors of all possible political opinions. We do not take political positions of any kind. We are simply advocating for the funding that our senior community relies upon.

Thank you, as always, for your support and your belief in our mission to improve the quality of life for people as they age!

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