FOR A GOOD CAUSE:Nonprofit faces hard times

Richard Chavez eagerly anticipates the daily visit of a Friends in Service to Humanity volunteer to his Costa Mesa apartment, especially when they are bringing enchiladas.

Chavez, 58, has had polio since he was a child and is one of more than 90 beneficiaries of the Newport-Mesa nonprofit’s Mobile Meals program, and because he cannot walk, he has depended on its services for his daily nutrition for the past five years.

“The volunteers are all angels, that’s for sure,” Chavez said. “They have been absolutely wonderful, and without them, it would be a horrible hardship for me.”

In partnership with Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, Friends in Service to Humanity has been offering the Mobile Meals program for more than 30 years, delivering two meals — one hot and one cold — each weekday to local people who are homebound.

But with donations and volunteerism at a lull and increasing overhead costs, the organization has been forced to make some sacrifices to maintain the meal-delivery service, including downsizing its paid staff from 10 employees to one, relocating from a rented office space to a single cubicle and canceling its homeless prevention program and grocery delivery services.

“Like most small charities, we’re having our challenges,” said Ken Ryder, interim president of the group’s board of directors. “We got to a point where we really needed to cut expenses, and unfortunately, part of that was cutting programs.”

After more than 10 years of involvement with Friends in Service to Humanity, Newport Beach resident Valerie Miller stepped up to direct the Mobile Meals program a few months ago and is working hard to keep it going.

The program “has been around for a long time, and I don’t want to see it dissolve,” she said. “Not only do we provide nutritional support, but that element of human contact is so important.”

As the organization’s sole full-time employee, Miller, 55, spends her mornings stationed at a pair of long tables outside the Hoag kitchen, where the food is cooked, preparing the meals for pick-up by volunteer drivers.

On Monday, she was aided by Linnette Garber of South County Senior Services, a community service organization that provides various resources to Orange County seniors, including a Meals on Wheels program.

The two groups collaborate to guarantee Friends in Service to Humanity has the infrastructure and support it needs to continue serving Newport-Mesa’s homebound population.

“We are more than happy to step up to help ensure the Mobile Meals program not only sustains itself, but through a collaborative effort, we hope to enhance the program as well,” said Dan Palumbo, South County Senior Services’ chief operating officer.

Because donors to such charitable organizations look for those that produce clear, measurable results, such collaborative efforts are necessary for local groups to survive amid more than 1,500 Orange County nonprofits, Orange County United Way spokeswoman Kristin Bush said.

“There is just so much out there that people are having a hard time navigating where to give,” she said. “If partners come together to create a greater impact within the community, then a lot of donors see that, and it will have positive results.”

As the partnership with South County Senior Services develops, Friends in Service to Humanity is in desperate need of drivers to join its base of more than 120 regular volunteers, all of whom are invited to a volunteer appreciation breakfast at 9 a.m. today in the Hoag Conference Center.

Donating her time to various meal delivery programs for about 40 years, Peggy Marotta, 76, offered an encouraging word to potential volunteers on Monday.

“Volunteering keeps a person young — it’s good for the mind and body,” she said. “And it’s a great program that keeps people from having to go into a home or to the hospital.”

To make a donation or become a volunteer driver — working once a week, once a month or when it’s convenient — call (949) 887-2996 or go to www.fishharbor.org.