Dear Friends of LifeCare Alliance:

LifeCare Alliance…….We Nourish the Human Spirit!

-Basic Human Needs

-Basic Human Services

-Basic Human Caring…..Everyday

I hope you enjoy the LifeCare Alliance Annual Report.  This report highlights our accomplishments, challenges, and most of all, the incredible clients, volunteers, staff, and donors of LifeCare Alliance. 

LifeCare Alliance has a dramatic and positive community impact EVERY DAY. Our people and programs substantially improve and change lives EVERY DAY.  This is our responsibility…This is what we do.

Your support of LifeCare Alliance is truly an investment in our community. LifeCare Alliance saves Ohio taxpayers over $55,000 per year for each senior or chronically ill person we assist in remaining independent and in their own home, which is where they want to be!  This clearly makes LifeCare Alliance the best value for your dollar.

Much continues to be accomplished everyday with your support.  Our recent accomplishments included:

1) We continue serve all those in need, ending 2008 with more than 14,000 clients. This is a 40% increase compared to the past three years. 

2) We are currently working on the Time to Deliver Capital Campaign with a goal of  raising $6.5 million so that LifeCare Alliance can continue to service all those in need for many years to come.  To date, we have pledges exceeding $6.1 million.

Our Meals-on-Wheels Kitchen was built to prepare a maximum of 2,000 meals per day. We currently produce 6,000 meals per day, creating extensive space issues. In addition, much of our equipment is aging and needs to be replaced.

The Time to Deliver Campaign allows LifeCare Alliance to purchase and renovate a needed warehouse facility, renovate parts of our existing Kitchen, purchase replacement equipment, and enhance our program endowment.  

Our new Meals-on-Wheels Distribution Facility, located at 670 Harmon Avenue, has opened!  We would like to provide a tour for you.  Please contact Chuck to schedule your personal tour of this tremendous facility. 

LifeCare Alliance’s Time To Deliver Capital Campaign has been granted a $400,000 challenge grant from the Kresge Foundation. This is an exceptional achievement, and is even more special because we only requested $250,000! The Kresge Foundation recognized the value of our new facility and the effectiveness of our programs.  Kresge provides such grants to worthwhile organizations for capital projects, such as our new distribution facility. Since 1926, LifeCare Alliance is only the 43rd grant recipient to of received this prestigious award in the Columbus area.  

As with all Kresge Foundation grants, this is a challenge grant.  We need to raise an additional $1.25 million by December 31, 2009.  While we are well on our way to achieving this goal, your support will be critical to our success.  We look forward to discussing this outstanding opportunity with you soon.

3) You may have read that the United Way of Central Ohio changed their funding focus.  LifeCare Alliance, along with several other agencies, lost part of our funding.  This, coupled with annual reductions in our traditional funding sources, makes your support more important than ever as we continue to serve all those in need.
 

All of this is accomplished EVERY DAY through the efforts of our dedicated volunteers, staff and management team, Board members, supporters, and especially you.  However, we need your support now more than ever.  I hope you will consider a special gift this year, an extra gift to assist us in meeting our challenges. 

In addition, you can help us in a number of ways:

• Volunteer.  When you deliver Meals-on-Wheels or one of our other critical services, you save us the cost of performing this service.  We simply could not deliver our services without you.
• Supply our food pantries.  When you provide food or personal care items to our food pantries you reduce our costs and support a family or individual in critical need, often keeping them out of homeless shelters.
• Get your company involved.  Currently, almost sixty companies deliver Meals-on-Wheels through our Adopt-A-Route program.  There is no better way to increase employee morale, at no cost to your company.
• Buy a catering.  Our LA Catering company provides critical funding for clients we could not otherwise service.  From graduation parties to wedding receptions to company events, we are your source for the best in catering.
• Other opportunities include our corporate wellness programs, flu shots, travel vaccines, donating to our supporting thrift stores…..all these opportunities and many more are detailed inside this report.
• Care.  Serve.  When you support LifeCare Alliance you truly assist those most in need in our community.

I am proud that EVERY DAY, LifeCare Alliance is in the homes and neighborhoods of your local community, doing what we do best, “Nourishing the Human Spirit”, and substantially improving and changing lives. As a supporter of LifeCare Alliance, you are truly part of a winning team.….The LifeCare Alliance Team!!!

Thank you,

Charles W. Gehring   
President and Chief   
Executive Officer    
          

         Calendar Annual Report 2008-09            990 - 2008 signed



For additional financial information, please view our IRS Form 990 at  www.guidestar.com.