Rosemary Noel has been a Meals on Wheels volunteer at Milestone Senior Services for ten years now, and she still loves it. In fact, she likes it so much she does two routes every week.
Milestone Senior Services’ Home Delivered Meals program (often referred to as Meals on Wheels) operates Monday through Friday throughout all of Kalamazoo and Calhoun counties. This program provides needed nutrition to older adults and adults with disabilities who are unable to access adequate nutrition for themselves. Each meal is made from scratch and nutritionally balanced, providing one-third of the daily recommended allowance. Clients have a choice of hot, cold, or frozen meals, and specialty meals are available to meet specific medical, or allergy needs.
Rosemary worked as a 911 dispatcher in Battle Creek for twenty-one years, so she knows the area very well. When she retired she was looking for something meaningful to fill her time. A friend recommended she look into volunteering with Milestone and within a week of applying she was delivering meals.
Meals on Wheels volunteers can sign up for whatever schedule works for them – some are on regular schedules, doing a set route each week or once or twice a month, and others are on-call to fill in when it works for their schedule. Rosemary jumped in with both feet and started out with two days each week – she does two different routes, one is in metropolitan Battle Creek, and the other is more rural – she enjoys both.
Most routes have two volunteers: a driver and a hopper. The hopper “hops” out of the car and delivers the meal to the client’s door. Rosemary felt comfortable doing both roles, and since it is sometimes difficult to get enough volunteers to fill all the slots, she was happy to do both. Because of her dispatch experience, she knows the routes very well, and she wouldn’t miss the opportunity to visit the clients at their door. Rosemary said, “You get to know them a little bit, and sometimes you’re the only person they see that day. It means a lot to them, but it lifts me up as much as it does them!”
When asked why she volunteers with Milestone, Rosemary said, “It’s important to me to make a contribution to the community – when I’m delivering food to people who might not get it otherwise, I know I’m making a difference.” Then she added, “And it gets me out of my recliner and out of the house!”
Between the two counties, Milestone operates 32 delivery routes based out of Kalamazoo and Battle Creek. With two volunteers on most routes and delivering five days a week, that’s a lot of volunteers. Last year, Milestone utilized 393 volunteers in their home delivered meal program. Taylor Benthin, Director of Nutrition at Milestone Senior Services, said, “Volunteers make this program possible. We could not provide this vital services without our volunteers, and we appreciate them all so much.”
If you are interested in learning more about volunteering, call our Volunteer Services Coordinator at 269-382-0515 or visit our Volunteer page. Milestone facilitates the AmeriCorps Seniors’ RSVP program which places volunteers age 55 and older at various nonprofits throughout Kalamazoo and Calhoun counties. Call for more information about how you can get started giving back to your community.
