GREENSBORO, N.C. — About one in 10 people in our community are struggling with food insecurity according to FeedingAmerica.org. That jumps even more to one in six when you talk about senior citizens going hungry. Your help is needed to make sure everyone has something to eat.
Meals on Wheels is looking for volunteers 2 Make A Difference in our community!
It takes about two hours to deliver all the meals to senior citizens on your route. You can do it once a week, every other week, or on a fill-in basis whenever someone else is out. Whatever you have time for will work.
Program organizers say Meals on Wheels is about more than feeding people. It’s about letting everyone know they are important to someone!
“The main thing we do on our daily checks is just to visit with people for a few minutes, check on them, make sure they are okay. Somebody knocking on their door lets them know you’re important, somebody cares about you. Nobody knocking on their door says the opposite,” said Davidson County Volunteer Services Coordinator Chris Bitterman.
In Guilford County alone, Meals on Wheels provided meals for 350 people daily at the start of COVID. After COVID, that number jumped to 500 people getting meals daily.
In March there are about 400 people on the waiting list. The only way to meet the need is through donations and more volunteers.
“It sounds like a big commitment but we're asking people one day a month where they and a partner can go out and deliver. It takes less than two hours you'll visit 16 to 18 homes, make new friends and you will go to bed that night knowing you made a difference,” said Ellen Whitlock, Director of Senior Resources of Guilford.
Senior Resources of Guilford says the need for donations and volunteers is year-round.
It costs $2,000 a year to feed a senior every day, but your donation doesn't need to be anywhere close to that to make a difference.
“I open the mail and see checks for $4 or cash of four dollars and I see gifts of very large sizes and every gift makes a difference. Each meal is about $8 a meal, using a local caterer, so we keep that money in the community. Gifts of all sizes are valuable,” said Whitlock.
Home meal delivery is the most well-known service Senior Resources of Guilford offers, but it’s not the one, there are community-based meals where folks can come to the center and socialize as well as eat a nutritious meal.
There are also resources now for homebound seniors with pets.
VOLUNTEER
You can find out info on volunteering for various capacities, not just Meals on Wheels here.
DONATE
You can donate online or by check.
By the way a huge thanks to Steven Caprio for nominating this organization to be featured! Each week The Good Morning Show features a different volunteer opportunity where folks have the chance 2 Make A Difference and help someone out. All of them submitted by you at home. If you have a great organization that you think could use some help, drop Ben Briscoe a line on his Facebook page.
This project started as a way to help stop the violence in our community. Thanks to everyone who has helped submit organizations to be featured.
