National Volunteer Month celebrates the impact of volunteers and their commitment to public service. Hawai‘i Meals on Wheels is so grateful for the dedication of our hard-working volunteers.
Over 250 volunteers deliver more than 10,000 meals each month to hundreds of individuals living independently at home, who for health reasons, cannot make their own meals. Many kūpuna on their routes are unable to shop or prepare meals due to illness, injury, or disability. Throughout the pandemic, kūpuna sheltered safely in their homes and our incredible team of drivers delivered a record-breaking 174,000 meals in 2021!
While delivering meals, volunteers provide vital social contact and informal wellness check-ins. Many clients look forward to talking story with their drivers as much as they enjoy their delicious meals.
“I look forward to the interaction with people as sometimes they are the only people I see all day. It always brightens my day to see a smiling face,” 87-year-old George shared.
Our volunteer appreciation video features Rick Tabor and Susan Hashimoto, who share why volunteering with Hawai‘i Meals on Wheels is so meaningful to them. It also featured Bill Metzger, who has volunteered with HMoW for 22 years. He shares wisdom from a lifetime of giving to others.
Responding to emergency needs throughout the island, volunteers helped reach hundreds of new clients during the pandemic. We expanded from a couple dozen routes in 2019 to 39 daily hot meal routes and 35 weekly frozen meal routes in 2021 – all thanks to our dedicated volunteers!
In addition to meals delivered to clientsʻ doorsteps, volunteers brought frozen meal packs to kūpuna living in nine low-income senior living communities, and more recently, began delivering meal packs to senior community centers, where active older adults can pick up healthy meals and then enjoy them safely at home.
The gratitude of our clients speaks volumes about our volunteersʻ kindness and generosity:
“Your delivery staff and volunteers give joy to us with just their smiles and taking time to bring my husband and me meals. It is a great help to us and the spirit of the delivery people adds to your generosity. Words cannot express our mahalo for all you do!” shared Kalihi couple John and Moana.
Mahalo to our fabulous volunteers! We couldn’t keep HMoW rolling without you!
Interested in volunteering?
As a HMoW volunteer, you can make a big difference in your community by committing just a few hours each week. Our volunteers provide nourishment not just for the body but for the soul as well. They also provide wellness checks for our clients who do not have family members to care for them.
