Our Mission, History, and What We Do
Mission Statement
Our motto is…… “Helping the lives of seniors through acts of kindness.” Our mission is…… To alleviate some of the pressure and fear many seniors have of not having enough to survive or having to choose between medication and rent. Our goal is…… To continue to help seniors by providing access to basic safety net services and necessities needed to survive. We will do this with dignity, compassion and respect.
History
Smiles for Seniors was established in 2007 when the founder saw a lack in services for the low income senior population while trying to find assistance for her own mother who at the time was finding it difficult to pay for cancer treatments and other emergencies. Seeing first hand the struggles that her mother and her mother’s peers were having trying to make ends meet, she soon realized that sad fact that the assistance needed for seniors was very hard to come by and decided to take action. The program reaches out to low income seniors throughout the Inland Empire and focus is on basic needs. Today the program boast helping over 500 low income seniors per year.
What We Do
We are Smiles for Seniors Foundation; a Non Profit 501 c (3) organization serving our low income seniors in the Inland Empire and surrounding areas. Each year our program provides emergency assistance and safety net services to struggling low income seniors who would otherwise have nowhere to turn.
We have quickly become one of the leading senior assistance agencies providing assistance for food, housing, utility payments, minor home and auto repair and help pay for life saving prescriptions and medical equipment just to name a few.
We are not funded by the government; and with the state budget being what it is; many assistance programs that rely on government funding are losing funding and we are gaining their overflow. We get many of our referrals from local agencies such as, 211 United Way, Salvation Army, Office on Aging, Adult Protective Services, law enforcement, social service workers, hospitals, churches, local senior centers and many other agencies.
We realize that there will always be poverty among the senior population; however we intend to stop the downward spiral that tends to happen when you are on a very fixed income. Even a grocery bill that is a few dollars higher can start this effect, leaving them to choose between medication and food. Many seniors do not eat 3 meals a day, and some even have to split their medication in half or skip doses all together.
This does not have to happen…Our vision is a world where not one senior will go without the basic necessities needed to survive.Our program is open to seniors age 65 or older with an income of under $15,000 year single and $25,000 per year combined and may be used one time. We are not funded by the federal government. Our funding is provided solely from local corporate, business and community sponsors. We are always in need of funding to continue to help seniors at their time of need.
If you or anyone you know would benefit from our program or would like more info, or to donate please contact us at (909)790-6671 or visit our contact us page and fill out a comment form.