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AUBURN – SeniorsPlus, the designated Agency on Aging for Western Maine, will hold a breakfast to benefit its Meals on Wheels nutrition program. The Fill the Plate Breakfast will be held Friday, March 20, from 7 to 9 a.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn Riverwatch, 14 Great Fallz Plaza. The breakfast will honor Don Harden with the Ikaria Award for his work with older people. Maine Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services Jeanne Lambrew will be the keynote speaker.
Proceeds will benefit Meals on Wheels of Androscoggin, Oxford and Franklin counties.
Lambrew will discuss plans for the department during the coming year, based on what she has learned during her first year as commissioner. She was appointed to her current position in 2019. Lambrew is charged with leading the efforts of the Department of Health and Human Services to serve Maine’s most vulnerable, including providing health care and social service support to low-income children, families, the elderly and Mainers with disabilities or substance misuse disorders.
Lambrew has worked on improving the health system throughout her entire career. She held senior positions at the White House for 10 years and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for four years. From 2011 to January 2017, under the presidency of Barack Obama, she worked at the White House as the deputy assistant to the president for health policy. In that capacity, she helped ensure execution of the president’s health policy agenda, including implementation and defense of the Affordable Care Act. Her portfolio also included policy regarding Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, long-term services and supports, and public health.
The Ikaria Award honors an individual in the community for singular and outstanding contributions toward improving the lives of older adults. As this year’s recipient, Harden is the director of Aging Services at Catholic Charities Maine, where he just celebrated his 40th anniversary as a Catholic Charities employee. He is a founding board member of the Maine Council on Aging, where he currently serves as vice chairman. He has been active on committees and a legislative commission to address long term care workforce challenges.
“Don Harden has worked hard to improve the lives of Maine’s older adults,” said Betsy Sawyer-Manter, president and CEO of SeniorsPlus. “We are thrilled to honor his years of dedication and hard work with the Ikaria Award.”
Ikaria is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. It is considered one of the world’s five “Blue Zones” – places where an estimated one in three members of the population regularly lives an active life into their 90s.
The Fill the Plate Breakfast is presented in conjunction with March for Meals, a national campaign of Meals on Wheels America.
Last year, Meals on Wheels at SeniorsPlus and its congregate dining services provided 130,000 meals to more than 800 homebound older adults and adults with disabilities in Androscoggin, Franklin, and Oxford counties. Almost 700 volunteers donate more than 25,000 hours to the program annually. Each meal provides one-third of the recommended daily allowance of nutrition, a safety check, and a visit to these vulnerable adults.
“Meals on Wheels can often determine a person’s ability to remain at home,” added Sawyer-Manter. For ticket information, visit www.seniorsplus.org or call 207-795-4010.
