SCAN Employees and Community Volunteers Deliver 2200 Thanksgiving Meals to Local Seniors

(LONG BEACH, Calif. – November 28, 2016) — Traditional turkey dinners with all the trimmings were delivered to 2,200 local seniors on Thanksgiving morning thanks to an annual meal delivery event organized by Long Beach-based SCAN.

“SCAN’s mission has always been to help seniors remain healthy and independent,” said Denise Likar, a vice president at SCAN. “When you bring a holiday meal to a hungry senior who also needs companionship, you know you are making a difference in someone’s life.”

The meals were prepared Thursday morning by a team of volunteers, then packed into bags with handwritten notes from local schoolchildren.

SCAN has organized this meal delivery event for the past 24 years, recruiting hundreds of volunteers to not only deliver warm holiday meals to seniors but to spend time visiting with the recipients, providing companionship and holiday cheer. Helping out at this event has become a tradition for many of the volunteers and their families.

“We couldn’t do this without our volunteers,” said Likar, who has been spending Thanksgiving morning volunteering at this event for 14 years. “It is a rewarding and fulfilling way to start the day.”

The holidays can be a difficult time for seniors, especially for those who don’t have resources available or family nearby. In addition to the annual meal delivery event, SCAN employees call thousands of SCAN Health Plan’s oldest members in December to visit with them by phone and wish them happy holidays.  

“Making that personal connection is key to helping seniors stay healthy and independent, and communities play an important role in making those connections,” said SCAN CEO Chris Wing. “Our holiday events are great, but we work with the community year-round to help ensure the support is available whenever it’s needed.”  

About SCAN

SCAN is a not-for-profit organization committed to keeping seniors healthy and independent. That’s been our mission since our founding in 1977. Today we deliver on that mission through a variety of divisions and programs including SCAN Health Plan, one of the largest not-for-profit Medicare Advantage plans in the nation. Independence at Home, a SCAN community service, provides vitally needed services and support to seniors, disabled adults and their caregivers. SCAN also offers education programs, community funding, volunteer opportunities and other community services throughout our California service area. To learn more visit scanhealthplan.com or facebook.com/scanhealthplan, or follow us on twitter @scanhealthplan.

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