Neighbors in Caswell County needed to deliver meals to seniors

By Shannon White
Special to the Register & Bee


Published: November 9, 2008

More than 100 of Caswell County’s homebound senior citizens depend on their neighbors for a hot meal, a friendly face and the comfort of knowing they haven’t been forgotten. There are still an additional 60 seniors waiting for their neighbors to show them the same compassion.

Volunteers with the Caswell County Meals on Wheels program deliver hot lunches Monday through Friday to homebound seniors, but program coordinator Rita Simon explains that for many of the seniors, the program provides much more than nutritional value.

“A lot of the time, the volunteers delivering the meals are the only people these seniors see every day,” Simon stated. “The volunteers might be their only regular contact to the outside world, the only people checking on the seniors every day.”

The program currently serves 106 seniors on 10 different routes. There are another 60 seniors on the waiting list, but Simon says more volunteers are needed in order to fill that need.

“Most of our routes take about an hour to complete, and volunteering to deliver just one day a month can make a huge difference,” Simon commented.

Volunteers arrive at the Bartlett Yancey High School cafeteria between 10:15 and 10:30 a.m. to pick up their meals, prepared by the Caswell County School’s Nutritional Services. The meals are then distributed along the volunteer’s designated route, which is most often in the same area as the volunteer’s home. Convenient drop-off locations have been set up across the county to eliminate the need to drive back to Yanceyville to return the coolers for the transport of the next day’s meals.

Simon says the program is fortunate to have a number of volunteers who are committed to delivering meals several times a week but stresses that a great number of volunteers may commit to once a week, or even once a month deliveries. A monthly delivery schedule keeps track of volunteers’ availability and scheduled days to deliver.

“Some people may say they can only deliver every third Thursday while another may say they can deliver every Monday,” Simon explained. “Every little bit helps, and we are grateful for all our volunteers. If we can get enough people willing to deliver just one day a month, we can set up new routes and start providing services to the seniors on the waiting list.”

The program has, in recent years, developed an informational video for potential volunteers. Simon encourages local churches and civic organizations to share the video, which is available on DVD and VHS, with their membership to help recruit more volunteers. For more information on Caswell’s Meals on Wheels program, to request a copy of the program video or to volunteer, contact Rita Simon at the Caswell County Senior Center at (336) 694-7447, ext. 29, or (336) 694-8955.