Dear Friends,
We regret that we must raise the suggested donation for meals at Bugbee Senior Center, and for home-delivered meals, to $3.00. We have not requested an increase since 1994.
      Your contributions have always been important in helping to pay for the meals we provide. With rapid increases in our costs over the past year, your contributions are now more important than ever! The Center's goal continues to be to provide you all with services which enable you to maintain independence and health in your later years, as well as the very special opportunity to enjoy a nutritious meal with friends here at the Center.
      It costs approximately $6.09 to prepare a meal, when the costs of food, utilities, consumables and staff are included. During FY04, the average donation has been $1.16 per meal. We hope that you will be able to increase your donation closer to $3.00, so that we may continue to provide these services. If you cannot afford the full $3.00 per meal, we urge you to give whatever you can. We hope that everyone will be able to  contribute something. Donations are voluntary -- no one age 60 or over will ever be denied a meal because of an inability to donate. (If each person had given one more dime per meal last year, it would have added $3,150 in revenue to help us pay for this program.)
      Thank you for your past support and for your consideration of our current needs.

Yours truly,
Kathleen W. Avery