Individuals suffering from terminal illnesses, those who are homebound, and seniors over the age of 60 all qualify for Project Open Hand services. Services center on nutritious meals. The recipients of Project Open Hand services vary considerably. Many volunteers like me expect that the recipients of the service will be down-and-out but in fact many were well-educated and had at one time held white collar positions. Illness takes its toll not just on the body but also on the bank account. Some of the recipients had lost support from friends and family and therefore depended on Project Open Hand and other organizations for the charitable contributions. I was particularly impressed by the diversity of age, ethnicity, and socio-economic class background that comprised the number of Project Open Hand care recipients I met. The organization depends on volunteers as well as on charitable contributions from private enterprise. Project Open Hand is not a faith-based organization and yet...

The organization has a Board of Directors comprised of individuals from major companies including Wells Fargo, and about 20% of donations go towards administrative costs. Moreover, Project Open Hand enjoys some funding from both state and federal governments. It is the combination of private and government funding that makes Project Open Hand possible. Without the varied resources, the services would be less reliable and the project would likely have failed long ago. Thousands of individuals receive support from Project Open Hand, and so long as the organization is transparent in its operations it matters not whether the government or the private sector are involved with administration. The ultimate goal of social service organizations is to fulfill their missions while adhering to ethical standards.
Work Cited

"Founder." Project Open Hand. Retrieved May 9, 2010 from http://www.openhand.org/pages/about/who/founder.html