Submitted photo Taking part in a check presentation are, from left, Meals on Wheels President Lynn Proudfoot, Meals on Wheels Board Member Valarie Bright, Meals on Wheels Treasurer Sharon Matthew, Tucker Community Foundation Executive Director David Cooper, and TCF Chief Financial Officer Mike Moore.

ELKINS — The Tucker Community Foundation has created the Meals on Wheels Randolph County Fund, that will go toward helping the organization’s day-to-day operation.

The new funding source from the TCF will aid Meals on Wheels’ top priority, which is to provide meals to individuals who are homebound or unable to secure or prepare a nutritious meal for themselves.

“We feed 60-65 people per day,” Meals on Wheels coordinator Rhonda Coffman said. “We want to ensure we can continue to grow into the future. This (fund) ensures that the money will never dry up.”

Meals on Wheels, a non-profit volunteer service, originated in Randolph County in 1972 and is aimed at monitoring the mental and physical condition of the elderly, disabled, chronically ill or convalescing. Meals on Wheels allows for people with those conditions to live independently.

Hot and nutritious meals are delivered to clients each weekday. For some clients, interacting with volunteers who make the deliveries is the only contact they have with someone outside of their home each day.

The additional funding provided from the Tucker Community Foundation and the Meals on Wheels Randolph County Fund is creating a permanent source of support for the Meals on Wheels program.

“Agency endowments allow nonprofit organizations to build permanent financial resources while continuing to serve their communities today,” said David Cooper, Tucker Community Foundation’s CEO. “We are proud to partner with a key community resource in Randolph County.”

The Tucker Community Foundation manages more than 160 endowed funds providing annual scholarships and grants to nonprofits and charitable causes throughout the 10-county service area.

Inspired by the flood of 1985, the mission of the Foundation is “creating opportunities for the individuals and communities we serve.”

For more information on how to set up an endowed fund or to learn about the foundation, call 304-478-2930.

The Tucker Community Foundation, which was inspired by the flood of 1985, manages more than 160 endowed funds and provides annual scholarships and grants to nonprofits and charities throughout its service area, which includes Randolph, Tucker, Upshur, Barbour, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Garrett, Mineral, and Preston counties.

For more information about the TCF, call 304-478-2930 or visit tuckerfoundationwv.org.

For more information on the Meals on Wheels program or to become a volunteer, call 304-636-4919, or visit the organization’s Facebook page.