Volunteer for Meals on Wheels program

Dear editor:

The local Meals on Wheels program has advertised for a couple weeks asking for people to volunteer for the program. Currently, they especially need volunteers for Friday mornings.

As an active volunteer, I offered to write this letter from a driver's perspective to see if it might help find volunteers.

Often when we see a call for volunteers we think about it, and say "I could do that"' and immediately think of reasons to do it later.

Meals on Wheels is an excellent program and to volunteer takes about two hours of your time each time you do it. Volunteers are trained and not just sent out to learn on their own.

In Mountain Home meals are delivered on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We report to the Senior Center, pack up the meals to be delivered and go out and deliver the meals to the great people out there who really do appreciate the program and our time and effort.

At this time of year, particularly, we all have things coming up that might cause us to think "I might volunteer after our trip, or after the company has come and gone," or any number of things we may have coming up during the summer.

Other volunteers will take your route if you need to be gone -- we all have those times where we want and need to be elsewhere -- it is no problem as long as you schedule that you will be gone, so don't let that stop you from getting involved.

There are many ways to get involved -- you can volunteer as an individual, as a couple (one drives, one goes to the houses) and during the summer some moms even bring their kids to help out when they are out of school because it is a great learning experience for the youngsters.

You can volunteer as a business, allowing employees to take two hours to work the program, displaying your community involvement. You can volunteer as a church or civic group having members take turns doing the deliveries. You can sign up to volunteer every other week if you wish.

Involvement in this wonderful program is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done, and I really feel I am doing something to give back to others and our wonderful community. I hope my thoughts will help someone decide to give it a try.

You can call the Mountain Home Senior Center at 587-4562 and ask for Patti if you would like more information.

Gail Best