Meals on Wheels needs drivers
Volunteers who delivered meals to local seniors throughout the pandemic are starting to return to work, leaving a gap for local agency Community Support Connections to fill.
When the pandemic first hit, the charity lost the majority of their meal-delivery
volunteers who were being instructed to stay safe at home as older adults
themselves.
With hot and frozen meals being delivered each weekday over lunch, the volunteer
opportunity was primarily filled by retirees with daytime availability.
“We were really in a panic when the pandemic started because dozens of our
regular volunteers were suddenly unavailable at the time same,” said Rosalind
Horne, Major Gifts and Engagement Lead at Community Support Connections.
“Once we reached out to the community, we were blown away by over 100
volunteer applications in about a week, but now many of those folks are returning
to work and are no longer able to help.”
Some of the agency’s original volunteers have returned, but they still have 22 open
routes each week which each serve between five and 12 clients.
“We have five routes open in Cambridge each day from Tuesday to Friday, and as
many as six open routes in Kitchener Waterloo on Thursdays,” said Horne. “If
people can even deliver one day a week, it makes such a difference in the lives of
our older adults to be able to stay in the homes they love.”
There are also other routes open for temporary coverage which varies week to week.
