Residents of the senior living facility Atrium Village in Owings Mills celebrated the lead-up to Thanksgiving in a way that describes the seaon best: by giving back to the community. The center held a tasting event dubbed “Let’s Soup Together,” on Nov. 17 to raise money for Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland.
The event was the first in-person community fundraiser held by Atrium Village in two years, after the COVID-19 pandemic stymied plans for community get-togethers and relegated events to virtual spaces like Zoom. “Let’s Soup Together” was the first post-pandemic opportunity for residents to meet up, socialize and enjoy delicious food for a good cause.
‘Residents love these events’
Many seniors in the Baltimore area and throughout the country have increasingly been affected by food insecurity, due in part to a lack of economic stability, not having access to healthy and affordable food in the area and/or being physically unable to cook or shop for food.
Founded in 1960, Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland seeks to remedy this issue by providing local seniors with daily delivered meals, complete with accommodations for special diets, as well as personal grocery shopping and in-home care programs.
The event was largely planned by Julia Miller, Atrium Village’s director of sales, who noted that it was her first time planning a fundraising event at the facility (originally, she wanted to hold a chili cook-off).
Different vendors that work with Atrium Village, such as in-home-care provider BrightStar Care of Howard County and Gilchrist Cares, a nonprofit provider of serious illness and end-of-life care (hospice), contributed different soups to the event. Organizers made it a point to say that 100 percent of profits were donated to Meals on Wheels to help them reach their current fundraising goal of more than $5,000.
Miller said she relished putting an event like this together: “It’s our first time putting on a fundraising event since COVID, and it’s been a lot of fun. The residents love these kinds of events.”
She also noted that there was a great deal of interest from the community’s residents prior to the event, and that it was received very well.
‘I try to participate in all of it’
Marvelyn Foster, a 71-year-old resident of Atrium Village wholeheartedly agreed.
“I enjoy everything they do here, and I try to participate in all of it,” she said. “It’s good that this event is helping out Meals on Wheels. It saves me time collecting cans for them.”
Miller added that the event benefiting Meals on Wheels was always part of the plan, and that she would like to organize more fundraising events in the future, saying “we want to do this more to encourage other communities to do it as well.”
Atrium Village has plans for other fundraising events in the future, including a “Festival of Lights” event in December to celebrate the holidays. That one will benefit Toys for Tots, with hopes that the residents will be able to deliver the items that are gathered to a local pediatric hospital and host a pizza party for the children staying there.
“We encourage everyone to visit our community,” said Miller. “We just went through major renovations this year, so we encourage everyone to come out and see the updates.”
