At 64, John Stoehr has an appreciation for his elders.
He sees them frequently when he and his wife make their rounds delivering for Meals on Wheels.
"We enjoy the older people. Sometimes, we're the only people these people see for weeks," said Stoehr, of Ross. "Their faces light up, and it's a very rewarding circumstance for us."
As America gets older, the more than 4,000 Meals on Wheels programs nationwide are struggling to find enough volunteers to deliver food to the elderly and the disabled.
"Part of the reason is right now volunteers are seniors themselves. They're the ones who have that portion of the day available to go deliver meals," said Enid Borden, chief executive officer of the Meals on Wheels Association of America in Alexandria, Va.
"As the population ages, they're becoming frailer, too," Borden said. "Our volunteer army is dwindling, and we do need volunteers. The need is nationwide."
The Lutheran Service Society of Western Pennsylvania operates 44 Meals on Wheels kitchens in Allegheny County and 33 in Beaver, Butler, Mercer and Fayette counties, Ohio and West Virginia. The society served 2.2 million meals last year to 8,000 clients through the efforts of 6,000 volunteers.
That sounds like a lot of volunteers, but it's conditioned on the fact that many volunteer just one day a month, said Sylvia Lynn, director of volunteer services for the Lutheran Service Society. It's a smaller core of volunteers who turn out more often.
Lynn said the program's long-running success has become a problem because people who do volunteer work tend to take Meals on Wheels for granted and assume that it will keep going.
"We fall off people's radars," she said.
For those who receive Meals on Wheels, the service can be of critical importance. For 80-year-old Lacea J. Semk, of Monroeville, it's one of the things that allows her to continue living in her own apartment, instead of in an assisted living facility.
"It's gotten to the point where if I'm not home, I leave the apartment door unlocked and they will bring it in and put it in the refrigerator for me," she said. "It's a very dedicated staff. The meals are very tasty."
Elwyn Hildum, who manages the Meals on Wheels program in Monroeville, said recent appeals for more volunteers have gone largely unanswered.
"Those of us involved in it are trying everything we can (to get more volunteers) without a whole lot of success," said Hildum, 68. "Some of our volunteers are getting old. It's not easy for them to get around. We don't seem to be able to obtain the services of younger people."
Dorothy Vandruff, cook for the Bethel Park program at Bethel Presbyterian Church, said it always has had enough volunteers, but many have been there since the start 35 years ago. The average kitchen worker is at least 80, and there's a driver who is 90.
"They're getting older, and everybody is having the same problem. The younger folks are all working, and they have no time to volunteer," she said.
When volunteers are lost because of an illness or injury -- or when they're away for the winter or won't go out in snowy conditions -- the ranks can become very thin.
"It would be great to have the younger volunteers to replace the older ones," said Judith Francis, site manager for the kitchen at Coraopolis United Methodist Church.
She worries about the older volunteers. "They're troopers. They don't quit," she said. "They keep coming back and they're great, but you can see them getting feebler."
Not having the time to get involved is the biggest reason people can't volunteer, said Jason Willett, a spokesman for Volunteer Match, a nonprofit organization in San Francisco that helps link volunteers with opportunities to serve.
"A lot of times, people who don't volunteer haven't volunteered previously," he said. "They don't appreciate what a rewarding experience it can be."
Like the Stoehrs, Patti Ferari and her husband, Sam, both 66, of Monroeville, started volunteering with Meals on Wheels after they retired about five years ago. They were drawn to it because a family member had been a client.
"We always admired that organization and thought it was a good one to get involved in," Patti Ferari said. "Life has been good for us. It's wonderful to give back a little bit."
Additional Information:
Want to help?
- To volunteer with Meals on Wheels, contact the Lutheran Service Society at 412-734-9330, to locate the kitchen closest to your home.
- Volunteer information is available from the Meals on Wheels Association of America online at www.mowaa.org .
- To search for volunteer opportunities with Meals on Wheels and other organizations, check out Volunteer Match on the Internet at www.volunteermatch.org . It's free for nonprofit organizations and potential volunteers.
