Once a month, neighborhood resident Dorothy Wilson finds herself standing on neighborhood doorsteps delivering hot meals with a smile.
She’s among a handful of neighborhood seniors involved in the Meals on Wheels program. The volunteers pick up prepared meals at the White Rock Senior Center, 9100 Diceman, and deliver them to homebound seniors.
“There’s not a lot of things where you can be a real hero every day,” says Gayle Collins, Dallas’ Meal on Wheels volunteer supervisor.
“But it’s real special for that person to get a meal.”
Wilson has been delivering meals for the program for the past 30 years, she says.
“It goes so far back, I don’t really remember when I started,” says Wilson, who coordinates the Meals on Wheels program for her church, Lakeside Baptist on Garland Road.
When Wilson first began volunteering, she had up to 30 homes on her delivery route. But as the years went by and more volunteers were recruited, her two-hour route has stabilized at about 20 homes, she says.
“I just feel like I’m meeting a need,” Wilson says. “I’m grateful I can volunteer and do various activities.”
Hollis Wise is 79 years old and he, too, has a monthly delivery route. Wise plans to continue the route “as long as I’m reasonably mobile.
“I just feel good about it,” he says. “Most of them (meal recipients) are very appreciative. Occasionally they’re cranky, but that’s only when I’ve brought the food later than I should have.”
The White Rock Senior Center, located within the Lake View Christian Church, delivers 150 meals to homebound seniors on 10 daily delivery routes.
Each meal has 600-800 calories and is prepared for a homebound senior who lives alone, Collin says.
The program originally started during World War II in England. Meals were prepared and delivered to homes where the kitchens had been demolished from bombings, Collins says.
In 1958, the program was adapted for seniors and established in Dallas by the Women’s Council, Collins says.
Meals on Wheels is always looking for volunteers of all ages, especially during the summer when many senior volunteers refrain from delivering because of the heat, Collins says.
For information on becoming a volunteer, call 214-689-0639.
