With SO much GRATITUDE: A Fundraising Update from LARSO

Learn more about the community support we’ve received in this update from LARSO Executive Director Jacci Gruninger.

As we close out our second month of fundraising, we can’t say it enough - thank you, thank you, thank you a million times over. The outpouring of support we are seeing fills our hearts with joy.

FUNDRAISING UPDATE:

• Unrestricted Funds (YTD) -  $75,734

• Meal Donations (August) - $2430

• Number of new members since July -  38

• Number of new volunteers since July - 5

We are also in discussions with the County regarding our funding situation, and they are being very supportive. We will keep you updated, but understand that the process will take some time. There is no need to be reaching out to our County Manager or Councilors. If you’d like to reach out to a representative, please contact your state legislators to advocate for more funding for our Senior Activity Centers.

We are now entering the third month of our Annual Campaign, with a focus on the Transportation Department. Remember, we can provide you with a ride anywhere in Los Alamos - even to a friend's house to hang out. And, it helps our bottom line tremendously when you take a ride with us. The more people who ride, the lower our unit costs will be. Currently, Transportation is our highest per-unit cost in the organization. So, even if you do still drive, why not take a ride with us?

The suggested donation for rides is $5, but, like all our program services, this is a suggested donation. If you can afford to pay, please do so. If you can’t pay, please don’t.

Exciting Transportation Experiment on the Horizon!

I am sure you are aware that we have a Volunteer Ride program to assist older adults in getting to medical appointments off the hill (and we are always looking for volunteer drivers!). However, we have recently been given the green light to experiment with taking a county vehicle off the hill with one of our paid staff members to transport people to their doctor’s appointments. This is only an experiment, and its success will be dependent on our budget. These rides will be limited to one day a week and will be available based on the availability of our team. However, if you request a ride off the hill, we will do our best to accommodate your ride.

Like our in-county rides, there are suggested donations for our out-of-county rides. Remember, like all our program services, this is a suggested donation. If you can afford to pay, please do so. If you can’t pay, please don’t. These are the suggested donations per trip:

Espanola - $30

Santa Fe - $60

Albuquerque - $90

I am also regularly seeking grants to support this program and help older adults access their medical appointments.

Regarding the budget, here are some minor changes you will notice starting this month that will help reduce our spending on non-essential items. Please note that neither the State nor the County requires any of these offerings.

• There will be no more cable television at either center once our current monthly service expires.

• No more juice will be available at lunch for congregate or home-delivered meals once we have exhausted our current stock. We will continue to offer water, tea, and coffee.

• We will no longer offer whole milk as an option once our current stock is depleted. We will continue to provide low-fat milk.

• There will be fewer selections at the salad bar.

• We will no longer offer birthday chocolate once our current stock is depleted. But we will continue to recognize our members' birthdays each month.