Want to help? Lauderdale County Meals on Wheels in need of volunteers

Published 1:00 pm Monday, April 22, 2019

Going on disability six years ago didn’t stop Wanda Cole from giving back to her community by volunteering with Meals on Wheels, delivering meals and coordinating with other volunteers.

“There’s probably someone out there worse off than me,” Cole said. “I love it. I love it because I look at it as if one day that could be me, so I treat them how I wanted to be treated. I want them to feel important.”

Volunteers, mostly seniors or dedicated church groups, meet each weekday morning outside the Multi-County Community Service Agency on St. Paul Street to discuss routes and supplies.

“Sometimes, we might be the only person they see that day. I’ve cried with them and I’ve prayed with them,” Cole said. “You’re putting a smile on somebody’s face every day. It’s fulfilling to me and I think it would be to anybody who did this.”

Marilyn Dale, who coordinates the volunteers, said that because of a shortage of volunteers, she’d had to reduce the eight routes to seven for the 191 recipients and deliver meals herself.

“Which I enjoy,” Dale said. “But we are in need of volunteers. If I had five, I’d be good. But I need at least three,” Dale said. 

With more volunteers, Dale could possibly address some of the people on the waiting list. 

“The recipients love it. They’ll be so glad,” Dale said. 

On a Wednesday morning, Cole and others packaged and prepared the meals for drivers, fellowshipping and checking in with each other.

“Meals on Wheels is a nutrional program designed to provide at least one hot meal per day for individuals 60 years or older or individuals with a Medicaid waiver,” Ronald Collier, the executive director of Multi-County, said. “We serve 190 meals per day, five days a week. Our goal is to serve 44,000 meals per year.”

Integral to that goal: the volunteers responsible for distributing food each day. 

“There are no words that can really describe how important volunteers are to Meals on Wheels,” Collier said. “We have some really good and sharp volunteers … the volunteer is really the lynchpin to how this works.”

Collier said that, more than food, volunteers must be aware of the living situations of recipients and alert Multi-County about their needs. For example, if a recipient mentions they’re having trouble paying for their utilities or prescription medication, Multi-County can step in and assist. 

“In the midst of that, we have case managers who are alerted by volunteers about other services recipients may qualify for,” Collier said. “We need volunteers who are cognizant of the recipients (so that) a case manager can go to that person’s home, initiate an application and take some of that pressure off of them.”

Having a daily visitor can be meaningful for homebound seniors, allowing some adults to live independently at home for a few more years.

“Just the volunteers presence that day, saying, ‘Hello,’ ‘How are you?,’ or whatever else they might need,” Collier said. “It can’t be measured.”

Volunteers visit the center on their assigned days and receive a delivery route from Dale, who also serves to screen potential volunteers. A route can take approximately two hours to complete, Collier said. 

More than benefiting the recipient, Collier said the senior citizens with extra time on their hands found their own reward.

“It’s valuable to them as volunteers because it gives them a sense of duty and involvement in the community,” Collier said. 

For someone considering the opportunity, Collier encouraged potential volunteers to put themselves in the place of the recipient. 

“If they can just understand that at some point they could be in that same position (and) if you saw yourself in the role of the recipient,” Collier said. “You realize, someone who may not have eaten otherwise that day has at least one hot meal.”

Dale echoed Collier’s observation of recipient appreciation.

“Some recipients, that’s all they get. They don’t have someone bringing them any other other food. I know that’s hard for people to imagine,” Dale said. “They look forward to this. For some, it’s all they have.”

Those interested in learning more about the programs offered by Multi-County, including Meals on Wheels, can call the organization at 601-483-4838. Potential volunteers can call Dale at 601-938-2943.