Courtesy KGMB - Written by Jim Mendoza -
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June 25, 2008 05:15 PM
Of 320 volunteers for Hawaii Meals on Wheels, Kelly Villaverde is one of a kind.
"I wanted to keep doing it but I didn't see how," he said.
Like all people who volunteer to deliver the food, Villaverde pays for his own fuel. He used to drive a truck. Gas prices caused him to downsize to a moped.
"It's still fossil fuel but it's a lot less," he said.
"I took a five gallon bucket and I cleaned it all up and then I put insulation inside of it and also spacers to keep the meals from impacting each other too much," he said.
That keeps the hot food ready to serve and the cold items cold.
Hawaii Meals on Wheels 400 people. Over a hundred are on a waiting list. But gas prices make it tough to recruit more volunteers to deliver the goods.
"Our strategy to respond to the price of gas is to be able to recruit more volunteers. Recruit groups of volunteers, church groups, businesses," director Claire Shimabukuro said.
Villaverde hopes others will at least look at his example. His fuel bill could have made him quit.
"You see the clients every week and it's just fun to chat with them a little bit and know that they're getting the meal that they look forward to," he said.
His clients and Hawaii Meals on Wheels are glad he came up with a way to keep his wheels turning.
