Durham nonprofit gets 'transformative' donation from Amazon founder's ex-wife Mackenzie Scott
Jason Peace, executive director of Meals on Wheels of Durham, didn't think he had heard right a couple of weeks ago, so he asked the caller on the other end of the phone line to repeat themselves.
Posted — Updated"[It's] the most that we’ve ever received in our history – over 45 years. We anticipate it to be very transformative for our organization," Peace said.
"For us just to be acknowledged in the 384, I think it says a lot to not only our volunteers and to the support of our board, but also just the support of our community and what we’re trying to accomplish here," Peace said, adding that he doesn't know how Scott learned of Meals on Wheels or why the group was chosen.
"For someone so far removed from the Durham community to really take a look at us and value what we’re doing and the people we are supporting, it really means a lot," he said.
Meals on Wheels officials haven't yet determined how to use the donation – it's roughly equal to half of the annual operating budget – for the maximum benefit.
"Quite simply, it just allows us to attack our goals and making sure that, if a senior needs a meal, they are able to get it," Peace said. "It just allows us the flexibility to explore things that we may not have even thought were possible before."
The gift is humbling, he said, for both him and Meals on Wheels.
"We value every dollar that comes in, no matter where it comes from, because we know we’re a choice, and people have a choice of where they want to contribute to," he said. "I think [Scott's donation] is going to be able to touch a lot of lives in our senior community."
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