50 Years of Meals on Wheels in Dallas by Eugenia King
How can you be the hands and feet of your faith in our Dallas community? One way is to be a driver for the Meals on Wheels (MOW) program of the Visiting Nurse Association of Texas (VNA). Five days a week, year-round, including Thanksgiving and Christmas, volunteers deliver to roughly 4,600 homebound seniors a warm meal and a big smile.
VNA had its humble beginnings in the tent cities of West Dallas during the Depression. The nurses provided care to the women and children at risk, forming the foundation to help the most vulnerable in their home. VNA’s umbrella of care now provides Meals on Wheels as well as adult and pediatric hospice and palliative care. In addition, we have community health workers who can navigate other needs of our clients including in-home flu or Covid vaccines.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of MOW delivering nourishment throughout Dallas County. Saint Michael has been there along the way and currently has a substantial roster of active volunteers delivering meals and social support. The late Mary Bartholow recruited our own Byrd Teague and Ruthie Garrett who both just received the VNA Volunteer of the Year award (pictured to the right). In addition, several parishioners have served on the Board of Directors—thank you Becky and Mike Casey, Christi Morrow, Pressley Peters and CiCi Weinmann!
To celebrate our volunteers and the relationship between Saint Michael and the Visiting Nurse Association, we are hosting a Day of Caring on October 5th. We want to extend our deep appreciation to current and potential volunteers, provide tours of the kitchen and assemble care packages for our Meals on Wheels clients.
You might drive twice a week or once a month; scheduling is made simple by using the VNA mobile app, and every volunteer reduces the expense of paid drivers. To learn how you can make an impact as a MOW driver please contact any of us below and show up on October 5th!
| Eugenia King SMAA Parishioner and VNA Board Chair [email protected] |
Inga Wilson VNA MOW Director [email protected] |
Kirstin Ivy SMAA Mission & Outreach [email protected] |
**This article was written by Eugenia King and was featured in the 2023 Fall Archangel.