|
|
|
NEED FOR VOLUNTEERS
Some people might go hungry simply because there is no one to
take them a meal. The Meals on Wheels program has an urgent need for additional
volunteers to help deliver meals and friendly visits to homebound frail
elderly and disabled people in the Tulsa metropolitan area. There is a need for
drivers (meal deliverers), food packers, and site
coordinators.
"This is an
opportunity to do something very simple and very easy, but to also make a
difference in someone’s life and well-being,” said Dan Rabovsky, Executive
Director.
According to
Rabovsky, “We have had some long-time volunteers retire and we have to find replacements for them. The
most serious need is for site coordinators. There are openings on Mondays, Wednesdays and
Fridays. They are the volunteers that oversee the delivery process
for that day. It is not
really very demanding and it requires only about a 3 hour commitment,
usually between 9 am and noon,” said Rabovsky. "Others needs include
drivers and packers as well as substitutes, and most of them can perform
those tasks in just about an hour."
“Some people might wonder
about how much gasoline they’ll be using if they deliver meals, but even a big gas guzzler can
do most of our routes on less than a gallon of gas. The routes are pretty compact and
there is not a lot of mileage involved. For those where
this may be an issue, we now have a partnership with RSVP and through a
grant RSVP received, volunteers can be provided some mileage reimbursement, so we
hope potential volunteers will not see this as a barrier.”
“People
desperately need these services. We want to make sure everyone who needs
meals has a chance to get them” Rabovsky said.
Rabovsky
explained that in addition to individuals, businesses can step forward to
help provide
Allcare
Hospice is an example of a business that became a volunteer
partner. When they heard about a critical need in the Southwest
Tulsa area they stepped forward to adopt a route and their employees are
using their lunch hour to deliver one day a week.
In the picture above, Allcare Hospice employees Becky Sparks and Jamie
Miller load their car for delivery, while MOW volunteer Marie Simmons
looks on. Employees usually volunteer on a 2-person team, on a
rotating schedule. According to Steve Money of Allcare Hospice, "We are
getting a lot out of it, too. It creates excitement among the employees,
and it helps develop a sense of company spirit and team work."
Meals on
Wheels of Metro Tulsa is the oldest and one of the largest home-delivered
meal programs in Oklahoma. Presently the program delivers more than 1,000
on a typical day of service. Meals on Wheels utilizes about 2,500
volunteers. The service is funded entirely by local charitable
contributions, and receives no government or United Way funding.
“The
volunteer task is simple and requires little time. The rewards are great, as each volunteer
makes a very big contribution to the lives of the recipients. Volunteers
deliver a hot meal - and get a warm feeling!” Rabovsky added.
For more
information, please call Meals on Wheels at 627-4103
or email us at:
mowtulsa@atlasok.com.
* * * * * *
Most volunteer Service opportunities are Monday through Friday, morning to noon. Regular Volunteer opportunities include the following: Food packers/kitchen helpers: (M-F) these volunteers perform their work at one of the 17 church kitchen sites used to package and ready the meals for delivery. The food is dished into 3-compartment aluminum trays and other containers and placed in thermal chests, ready for delivery. Time involved: 1½ - 2 hours, usually between 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Volunteers usually work one day a week, or less. We also utilize a substitute, or "reserve list" of volunteers who may be called to replace a volunteer who can't work that day. Volunteers are placed at a site nearest their home, or in the same group in which their congregation participates if preferred. Meal Deliverers/drivers: (M-F) these volunteers deliver the meals along pre-arranged routes of 12-15 recipients. After arriving at the kitchen site they pick up the food, packed in thermal containers (ice chests), and route books containing information about the people to whom they will deliver. Using their own vehicle, the volunteers then make their deliveries. There is no reimbursement for expenses, but volunteers may claim mileage as a tax-deductible contribution as allowed by the IRS. Upon completion of delivery the volunteers return the ice chests and route books to the site. Time involved is between 1 - 1½ hours, usually between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. We like for volunteers to work in partners so that one can drive and the other navigate, but it is not always required. Volunteers usually work one day a week, or less. We also utilize a substitute, or "reserve list" for those willing to fill in when the regular volunteer can't make it. Volunteers are usually placed in the unit nearest their home, or an area they prefer. Coordinators:(M-F) these volunteers work at one of the 17 church kitchen sites and coordinate the meal delivery system. They supervise and coordinate the activities of the volunteers from that site, take referral information from the office, and pass on necessary information by telephone from the site to the office, the recipient's family, etc. They keep the necessary records of the day's delivery, including the route books, and record any contributions which come in that day. They place the order for the next day's service. Time involved about 4 hours, usually between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Volunteers usually work one day a week or less - they choose the day. Office volunteers: (M-F) these volunteers work at the Meals on Wheels office, located at 12620 E. 31st Street (between Garnett & 129th E. Ave). They will answer the telephone, take referral information, answer public inquiries, pass along necessary information to coordinators, etc. Time involved is negotiated based upon convenience, with a minimum of two hours recommended. Office hours are Monday - Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Bulk Mail Volunteers: Sometimes we use volunteers to help us with our bulk mailings -- stuffing envelopes, labeling, etc. -- which can occur throughout the year. You can put your name on the list, and we'll call you when we are doing a mailing. Then come if you can help! Supply Drivers: (M-F) these volunteers deliver the packaging supplies to the various Meals on Wheels church kitchen sites, using the Meals on Wheels Ford Areostar van. The supplies include cases of aluminum trays, Styrofoam food cups and lids, and sandwich bags, etc. These are used at the sites to package the individual meals. The cases are usually not heavy to lift, and dollies are also provided. A delivery schedule has been developed so that deliveries are made to only two or three sites each Tuesday, Wednesday, or Friday, from 9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. The Loyal Order of the St. Bernards: (M-F) On snow-days, when we must cancel our regular program for delivering meals, a special group of volunteers comes to the rescue. Many of our recipients generally will have something in their homes they can fix, or they have family members to care for them, but there are a good number of our recipients who depend solely on our food deliveries for their daily nutrition. For these individuals, if we cannot get a meal to them, they probably won’t eat that day. Special volunteers, who won’t let the challenge of the snow stop them, are snow-day "rescuers" by helping us deliver an emergency meal to these homebound persons. If you sign up, we will call you when we need you, and if you are available we will provide you with the emergency meals along with a list of the people and addresses to whom you will deliver. We will attempt to put people on your "route" who are in the same general vicinity, and limit the number of stops according to your available time. It will generally take no more than a hour or two to make the delivery of meals. Special Event Volunteers: We use volunteers to staff the committees that plan and carry out our special events, such as the annual Golf Tournament, the fall fund raiser, Tulsa's Greatest Garage Sale, and other events and benefits as they arise. These are usually short-term volunteer projects and are a lot of fun! The jobs vary with the event, and can be anything from monitoring a contest at the Golf Tournament to helping serve refreshments to event participants. Meals for Paw Starz Volunteers (providing delivery of pet food to our recipients)
To request a volunteer application be sent to you, simply call us at 627-4103, or email us at: mowtulsa@atlasok.com
* * * * * *
Meals on Wheels Food Handler Classes for 2010
All Food Handler volunteers (kitchen packers) should check their cards and make sure that they get a new card sometime before the expiration date listed. Cards need to be renewed every year now. All classes, except for 2, will be held in the Conference Room at the Meals on Wheels facility (12620 E. 31st Street), except as otherwise noted. Please pre-register for the sessions.
The Health Department now requires us to guarantee at least 20 participants per class, so we must ask for advance registrations (call 627-4103) so that we can insure we will have the minimum number present for the session. You may also choose to attend a regular class at the Health Department if you wish, but you must check with them for their schedule.
We are now on Facebook! If you have a Facebook account you can join our Group: "Meals on Wheels of Metro Tulsa." Just follow this link:
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=1224166920&k=5WD3Z4W4VY3M5FBFUB25SR
* * * * * * *
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON VOLUNTEERING CALL 627-4103, OR EMAIL US AT: mowtulsa@atlasok.org
|
|
Meals
on Wheels of Metro Tulsa
|
|
12620
E. 31st Street Tulsa, Oklahoma 74146-2307
|
|
ph: 918-627-4103
fax: 918-663-8914
|
|
email: mowtulsa@atlasok.com
|
volunteers. “We have many businesses that have adopted a
route. Two of their employees, on a rotating basis, are allowed time out
of the office to deliver meals on a regular basis, usually from one day a week to
one day a month. We have a number of businesses currently involved. It’s
a great way for a company to be active in the community and their
neighborhood. We would like additional business volunteers to help us
deal with this present crisis. We can try to match them with a unit
closest to their office and give them a smaller route which can be done in
less time, as well as place them on a day that is best for them,” Rabovsky
said.
(Picture by Tulsa World)