Former NSYNC Member Lance Bass Celebrates West Hollywood Volunteers

On September 2nd, Lance Bass, actor, television producer, and former member of the pop boy band NSYNC, celebrated volunteers from Jewish Family Service LA and Meals on Wheels West for their dedicated efforts to provide nutritious meals to homebound seniors.  

Lance Bass is supporting a social media campaign called #RespectYourElders, launched by Meal on Wheels America, which supports more than 5,000 programs across the country dedicated to addressing senior hunger and isolation. The campaign was launched to build empathy and compassion and to encourage people to do a random act of kindness. 

Through this campaign, Bass connected with Meals on Wheels West and JFSLA, who have an ongoing partnership to deliver meals to homebound seniors in West LA. Bass, moved by the dedication of the volunteers, expressed his gratitude by celebrating them with a celebratory reception at his restaurant, Rocco’s, in West Hollywood.  

“He made everyone feel so welcome and was so down to earth,” said Siri Perlman, JFS Director of Senior Nutrition Services. “Lance took his time to visit each booth and speak with every single volunteer. He genuinely wanted to hear about their experiences, why they love volunteering and stories about the clients that we serve.” 

An estimated 30 meal delivery volunteers, along with a few JFSLA and MOWW staff attended the event. The celebration was a great opportunity to recognize our dedicated volunteers who deliver meals and assist the successful operations of the Senior Nutrition Program.  

“We have been able to provide uninterrupted meal service throughout the entire pandemic which has required finding creative ways to maintain operations in the face of various challenges,” said Perlman. “Part of this creativity is calling on our incredible volunteers to help us. This is especially important on days when we might be short staffed or closed due to holidays and need to deliver two weeks’ worth of deliveries. We greatly appreciate volunteer assistance.”  

Volunteers’ delivery routes consist of deliveries to about 10-15 seniors and take about 2 hours to complete. We are also in need of volunteers to assist with meal service at JFSLA’s congregate dining sites and calling homebound clients for wellness checks. 

“We really appreciate working with our amazing partner Meals on Wheels West, to meet the needs of seniors,” said Perlman. “They’ve been great partners not just in terms of providing the services in the Venice/Santa Monica area but also in gathering additional resources, sharing with creative solutions, and brainstorming best practices. We really appreciate Meal on Wheels America for reaching out to us as part of their campaign because we also believe it is very important to bring awareness to the needs of seniors and the role the public can play in assisting us with providing much needed resources.” 

 JFSLA’s Senior Nutrition Program is looking for volunteers. To learn more about JFSLA volunteer opportunities, please visit jfsla.org/volunteer or contact Joyce Williams, Director of Volunteers and Training, at 323-556-2928 or jmwilliams@jfsla.org. For more information about our dining centers, please visit: https://www.jfsla.org/program/dining-centers/ or call (323) 937-5843.