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Date: 9/22/2021
SOMERS, CT – Somers Social Services is seeking volunteers for their Meals on Wheels program. The program has been in existence for almost 40 years and helps provide meals for homebound seniors in the Somers community.
According to Allison Maynard, social services director, the program runs five days a week and currently provides lunch and dinner to 11 residents. Maynard said that during the coronavirus pandemic they had as many as 25 residents needing meals.
In recent months, Maynard said that there has been a lack of volunteers for the program.
“With people just returning back to work and life kind of getting back to, maybe, a little bit more normal we’ve seen a decrease in the amount of volunteers that we have,” she said. “We have 13 active volunteers, but many only volunteer once or twice a month and we have 20 delivery days.”
Volunteers are needed to deliver the meals to the seniors. Maynard said that volunteers are provided with directions and given a systematic route when delivering. They are also given detailed descriptions of the client’s house, where to leave the meals, their name and phone number.
“We make it as easy as possible for volunteers to navigate the town even if they don’t live in Somers and they want to help,” said Maynard.
Volunteers are able to pick which days they want to deliver and how often they deliver. Maynard said they are ideally looking for five or more volunteers to join their team.
“We would never turn anyone away from volunteering. We can always find a spot for them,” she said.
Volunteers are also required to go through a short online training and fill out paperwork with the Social Services Department before starting, said Maynard.
Those interested in volunteering are encouraged to contact Meals on Wheels Coordinator Christina Hurdle at 860-265-7551 or churdle@somersct.gov. Volunteers are being accepted on a rolling basis.
Seniors requiring meal delivery from the Meals on Wheels program can also contact Hurdle.
Maynard said that all of their volunteers find it to be an extremely rewarding and enjoyable experience.
“It’s a very rewarding experience. You’re helping meet the basic needs of our homebound seniors in the community and the program cannot run without volunteers. Anybody willing to dedicate their time, we’re truly appreciative of it and so are our seniors in the community who can’t get out and who have trouble preparing their own meals at home,” she said.