Good Works: Meals on Wheels | Video

Alan Miller | 2/8/2013

A lot of organizations would fall short and a lot of work would go undone if it weren`t for volunteers. They`re the lifeblood of so many groups that do good. And it`s not just the young and energetic who sign up to help. You`ll also find many of the young at heart.

It`s lunchtime for the homebound in Mandan. Volunteers load up their vehicles for delivery to the homebound for Golden Age Service`s Meals on Wheels program. They`ll scatter around town to drop off about 50 lunches a day and check on those who don`t get out much. Some people live close enough so that John Mitchell can do a walking route. And for 14 years, he`s always tried to bring cheer wherever he goes.

" And I like it. It keeps me out of trouble, and I like talking to the people, and I go to the people and I say `How are you today?` And stuff like that, and visit with them and stuff like that, and make sure they`re well and stuff like that."

There might be another 50 or 60 people who come for lunch at a discounted price. There is some paid staff, but people who don`t collect a paycheck play a big part here as well.

"Our volunteers equal approximately six to seven full time staff in a year`s time. So they put in a tremendous amount of hours, you know, staffing our desk, setting tables, helping serve food," said Kim Stevenson with Golden Age Services.

Golden Age Services also offers what is called options counseling. Social workers meet one on one to assess their needs and link them up with available resources.

But one of the keys here is the social interaction and fun activities. And those are priceless.

If you would like us to highlight a person or organization that`s doing good for others, call me at 701-255-8184 or send me an email at amiller@kfyrtv.com, or on Facebook, because those people probably won`t notify us on their own.

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