Meals On Wheels volunteers gathered for an appreciation breakfast Thursday morning Great Bend Recreation Commission Burnside Room to help commemorate Mayors Day of Recognition for National Service which will take place Tuesday.
In Great Bend there are approximately 60 volunteers who deliver meals on a regular basis or substitutes when needed. There are also more throughout Barton County.
“The impact of Meals On Wheels on a person’s life could be the difference between staying in their home or moving to a nursing home,” said Linn Hogg, Volunteers in Action/Retired Senior Volunteer Program executive director. “It also may be the only time that a recipient gets a well-balanced meal.”
“The visits also serve as a wellness check for the recipients, Hogg said. “Sometimes, this is the only person they will talk to the whole day.”
During the breakfast, volunteers took time to write down stories about their volunteer time. They included learning about a survivor of Pearl Harbor, learning a small spattering of a foreign language and being able to assist someone in need. Overall, they felt their experience was one of the bright point of their days.
RSVP volunteers not only deliver meals, Hogg said. They deliver people to medical appointments, work at the blood drives or local hospitals, help assist with community events, educate our young and fill in where non-profit agencies just can’t pay someone with the limited funds they receive.
Hogg said the Mayors Day of Recognition for National Service is a nationwide bipartisan effort to recognize the positive impact of national service in cities, to thank those who serve, and to encourage citizens to give back to their communities. The day is sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the National League of Cities, and Cities of Service.
Great Bend Mayor Mike Allison, along with more than 55 mayors across the country, are taking the time to recognize volunteer service during the third annual Mayors Day of Recognition. This day, Tuesday, April 7, was created to highlight the impact of national service in tackling city problems.
In his proclamation to recognize National Service Recognition Day, Allison said how local Senior Corps volunteers demonstrate commitment, dedication and patriotism by making an intensive commitment to service through the RSVP program, working with the Meals On Wheels program, the RSVP Medical Transportation Program and many other non-profit agencies and program in Barton and Pawnee Counties.
