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'Meals'
needs wheels
NAMOW
in need of drivers, kitchen volunteers
By Sarah Hall
The
area's main provider of hot meals to the homebound needs
you.
North Area Meals on Wheels (NAMOW), which serves Liverpool,
Clay, North Syracuse, Brewerton, Cicero and part of Bridgeport,
is looking for volunteers to help cook, prepare and deliver
food to its elderly clients.
"We're very blessed to have the volunteers we have,"
said Donna Barrett, NAMOW's executive director. "And
we do everything we can to celebrate them - every four months
or so, we have an appreciation evening. It's a time for
all of the volunteers to get together. But we do need more
people."
Meals on Wheels provides bag lunches and hot dinners to
homebound clients who aren't able to buy or prepare their
own food. For $5.50 a day, NAMOW's clients, mostly seniors,
get two meals a day tailored to their specific needs. NAMOW's
cooks prepare food for some 200 clients, many with special
health and nutritional needs.
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Jan.
30, 2008
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The
organization, which has a center located in North Syracuse,
was founded in the mid-1960s by some of the parishioners
at Pitcher Hill Community Church, who sought to get
meals to some of the elderly members of the congregation.
At that time, three or four volunteers cooked all of
the meals in their own kitchens and delivered them on
two routes. Now, the organization has 19 routes and
38 volunteers. Entirely funded by client fees and individual
and corporate donations, the organization receives no
government funding. |
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Drivers,
prep help needed
Now, as the Baby Boomer generation ages, more and
more volunteers are needed to keep the program going
strong.
"Our drivers are wonderful," Barrett said.
"They're faithful, conscientious, very diligent.
And they really develop a relationship with the elderly
folks - they know their customers, and if a regular
isn't on their route sheet one day, they notice and
ask what's wrong."
However, Barrett said, the drivers she has are getting
older themselves and are looking to step down from
the position.
"So we need reliable drivers who can provide
some consistency for our clients," she said.
Typically, NAMOW's drivers have one route with about
10 to 12 people on that route. Delivery takes about
an hour, and, factoring in time to pick up and drop
off necessities at the center, drivers are needed
from about 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. every day.
"Even if people can just do a couple of times
a week, that would be a big help to us," Barrett
said.
Barrett said that, while the need is greatest for
drivers, she'll happily accept anyone who wants to
volunteer their time.
"We don't say no to any volunteers," she
said. "Whenever they come, we can find something
for them to do."
In particular, Barrett said she is looking for people
to help with the preparations of meals for the next
day's runs.
"We're very fortunate to have a couple of volunteers
who come in a little later in the morning and help
prepare the food for the next day - make the cole
slaw, core and stuff peppers, that kind of thing,"
she said. "Our kitchen volunteers get here between
7:45 and 8 a.m. They can't come in at 8 and do all
of the prep work and the cooking and get 200 meals
out of here by 11, so that's a tremendous help."
Barrett said she believes in making everything from
scratch - you won't find frozen meals at NAMOW. While
that guarantees a higher nutrition content, it does
take more time, so any kitchen volunteers are welcome.
"It saves [our cooks] a tremendous amount of
time," she said. "They have enough to worry
about."
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Jan.
30, 2008
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Making
their day
While nutritious and filling meals are NAMOW's
bread and butter, so to speak, the organization
also believes in having a little fun with its
clients.
This Valentine's Day, NAMOW's clients will receive
a special treat: 250 cookie cutouts prepared
and decorated by NAMOW volunteers.
"We're
very blessed to have people who want to do that,"
Barrett said.
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The
12 volunteers who have signed up for the task
will take dough provided by Cysco, form an assembly
line and make the cutouts on Feb. 11.
The treat is something Barrett said is essential
for NAMOW's clients.
"It's nice to do something special for our
clients," she said. "Their time can
be so short. For the rest of us, Valentine's Day
can be no big deal, but for them, we like to make
it something special. It means a lot to them."
In fact, Barrett said she often receives calls
from family members of clients thanking the organization
for its special efforts.
"Their kids or nieces and nephews will call
and say we made their day," Barrett said.
"And that's what we want to do - to provide
them with good quality of life in the time they
have left. That's what it's all about."
To find out how you can volunteer, call Donna
Barrett at 452-1402. |
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Written
by Sarah Hall for publication by
Eagle Newspapers
Photos courtesy of Sarah Hall
Eagle Newspapers
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