News Release

Local Author Donates Children's Financial Literacy Books to Meals 4 Kids Program Recipients (Photo) - 10/06/20

Local author Paul Nourigat has donated 225 sets of his five-book series “Marvels of Money for Kids” to the Meals 4 Kids program, a subsidiary of Meals on Wheels People. Volunteer drivers will deliver one book each week for five weeks to families served by the Meals 4 Kids program. beginning the week of Oct. 12. Deliveries will be made from Meals on Wheels People’s Central Kitchen at 7710 SW 31st Avenue on Monday 8:30-9:30 a.m.; Tuesday 11:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.; Wednesday 8:30-9:30 a.m.; Thursday 11:15 a.m.-12:25 p.m. The books provide fundamentals of money management in a fun way using stories and are used in homes, schools, libraries and community centers around the US. 

Funded by the Portland Children’s Levy, the Meals 4 Kids program provides home delivery of culturally-appropriate, nutritious dinners to families in need. Children ages 0-18 and their caregivers who live in the City of Portland are eligible to receive services if the family income is 185% of the federal poverty level or lower. The Meals 4 Kids program prioritizes serving low-income families of color living primarily in East and North Portland experiencing low food security who are also experiencing any of the following:

• Chronic condition or illness of caregiver or child

• Lack of facility to prepare meals

• Lack of transportation to access food resources such as food pantries

• Other barriers impacting access to food resources and/or ability to prepare meals

Paul Nourigat is a Portland business consultant who has authored nine financial and life success books for kids, teens and young adults, over the past decade. The books are a labor of love, to empower young Americans with fundamental financial insights, as they strive for independence. Using age-appropriate formats (story books for kids, graphic novel for teens and non-fiction for young adults), Nourigat speaks to each age in a style that is most engaging. 

“We’re experiencing an unthinkable educational and social gap that distance-learning will only partially fill. My wife Lisa and I are donating 7,500 books to help fill that gap for local kids and their families who lack connectivity and the resources enjoyed by others,” Paul said. “We’ve specifically sought collaborations with efficient and high caliber community organizations, and are thrilled that Meals on Wheels People will expediently get 1,250 books into kids’ hands.  Their commitment to deliver a book a week for five consecutive weeks, alongside their Meals 4 Kids deliveries, will bring an anticipatory and paced learning experience for kids.  This will also help their parents, by providing engaging printed, off-line media for the kids that is packed with healthy life skills lessons.”

About Meals on Wheels People: Meals on Wheels People has been changing lives, one meal at a time, since 1970. We provide more than a meal to thousands of older adults in the greater Portland metro area. Our service not only alleviates hunger and social isolation, but allows seniors to live independently with dignity in their own homes. Aging in place reduces depression, falls and hospitalization as well as the high cost of institutional care. For more information, visit: mowp.org.