Volunteers delivered over 50,000 meals to elderly Habersham County residents and shut-ins last year. One month into the new fiscal year, they’re already slightly ahead of last year’s monthly average. While the need is there, the volunteers aren’t.
Currently, there are 63 volunteers delivering meals to 160 residents around the county. That number fluctuates as clients move on and off the rolls. Last week, 13 new clients signed up for the program and needed immediate service. So far, the Senior Center has been able to adjust and cover the routes with the volunteers that they have, but director Kathy Holcomb worries the day may come when they can’t.
“I feel with the economic conditions we are currently facing and food banks running low or out of food inventory we may see an increase in the need for meals and food bags this upcoming year,” she says. “It could happen that someone will not get a meal if we cannot get it to them. Many homebound clients depend on this meal, so, it is imperative to have volunteers able and willing to meet the delivery needs.”
Feeding bodies and spirits
The Senior Center hopes to recruit at least twelve new volunteers (more is always better) to help cover for absences and added orders. Additional volunteers would also allow the program to serve up more hot meals. Clients living on the outskirts of the county receive frozen meals the first of each week. It’s enough food for seven days, but limits the social interaction and camaraderie they form with the Meals on Wheels volunteers. Many of the clients live alone and are lonely. Often, volunteers are the only people they see.
“I see firsthand their struggles, their needs, their loneliness,” says Holcomb, who has worked with Habersham’s senior population for five years. “I have a committed staff, a great group of volunteers who have servant hearts who will take that one moment to listen to the client’s need, to have that conversation and are resourceful to find solutions to meet their need. We need volunteers who are committed in the same way.”
The county is now actively working to recruit more Meals on Wheels volunteers. An informational meeting is scheduled from 5-7 p.m. next Wednesday, September 7, at Chick-fil-A in Cornelia. The meeting will include details about duties and scheduling and what’s required of volunteers. It will also cover things that are less tangible.
“They will hear about the commitment we have to our clients, what it means to volunteer, and the prideful feeling of helping others in need.”
Vetting volunteers and getting started
To ensure the safety of vulnerable populations such as the elderly and disabled, in 2018 Georgia lawmakers passed a law requiring volunteers to be fingerprinted and pass background checks. Once a volunteer has been fully vetted, they work with the Senior Center to craft a schedule flexible to their needs.
“You can volunteer as much of your time as you would like. You can serve a client every Tuesday, every other Tuesday, once a month, or you may have time to serve a client on a daily route. We are willing to work with everyone on creating a schedule,” says Holcomb.
Those interested in learning more about volunteering are invited to attend next Wednesday’s meeting at Chick-fil-A in Cornelia. They may also contact the Senior Center for more information by calling 706-839-0260. The Center is located in Habersham’s Health Services Park at 217 Scoggins Drive in Demorest.
To receive Meals on Wheels you must be 60 years or older and homebound. Habersham County residents who are interested in the program may call the Senior Center at 706-839-0260 for more information.
