...with some place to go! This is Meals on Wheels, food containers lined up on the shelves, blue for cold food, red for hot food; cars lined up in front ready to deliver meals to approximately 500 homebound residents on 34 routes in Midland. This happens 5 days a week. There is another program called Share A Meal that delivers food on Saturday, with a frozen meal for Sunday. There are not as many clients in this program and I am assuming those that are do not have anyone to provide meals for them any day.
Almost two years ago I started delivering food twice a month with another lady named Nelda. We met at an open house at an Edward Jones office because I had heard people saying my name, but no one was speaking to me. I also heard someone ask this other Nelda if she was still delivering food for Meals on Wheels. Her response was that she was, but her partner had moved away so she was delivering alone. I later introduced myself to her and in our conversation I asked her if she would like to have another partner for Meals on Wheels. This other Nelda has become a very special person to me - so chalk one up for MOW!
After a few weeks I mentioned to the volunteer coordinator that if she should need assistance in the office I was available - on a volunteer basis. I told her I was pretty good on a computer and I could stuff envelopes, etc. Guess what! The very next day she called and said she had a project for me!
The project is to take a monthly list of drivers with the number of trips they made each month, multiply that by $3.75 and round up to the nearest $5.00, then to give each driver gift cards for that amount. Once a month I take my list, which I have broken down by days of the week, and I go to the Meals on Wheels facility each day for a week and hand out gift cards. I am a very popular lady that week!
The gift cards are for purchases at HEB, and are provided by a Midland philanthropic foundation to offset the cost of gasoline for the drivers. There are some drivers that deliver food 5 days a week. Some have regular routes for each day of the week and others drive where ever and when ever needed as substitutes.
I have met wonderful caring people involved with Meals on Wheels and am so blessed to know them.
4 comments:
Very good!!!! Maybe SOMEBODY will see this and volunteer to help with MOW too. Wouldn't that be something? Keep up the good work, Girlfriend. Love ya oodles and doodles and bunches and gobs - Pat
I'm so glad you shared this with us, Nelda (Nelda #1 in my book). It's good work you do and like Pat, it is encouraging for myself and others to know one person (imagine, times 6 billion!) can make a positive impact on the world.
By the way, HELLO PAT! So glad to see successfully made comments here and on my blog from you.
You ready to blog yet? ;)
Good work. Hope it is going well
Post a Comment