What it really means to volunteer – everything

If you look up the word “volunteer” in a dictionary, the definition will read something like “one who offers to enter or gives service of his own free will.” I am paraphrasing, but you get the idea. It doesn’t really get to the heart of what it takes to be a volunteer – or what it means to the recipients of these good works.

Meals for Me, which utilizes a large number of volunteers, considers them the bread and butter of the program, so to speak.

“The volunteers are everything to us,” said Gail Ward, director of nutrition at EAA. “Between the home delivery program and the dining rooms, the volunteers help us ensure that seniors who might not eat a balanced meal, or would eat alone, are getting good nutrition, and can eat with their peers and not just have a sandwich in front of the TV.”

Take Bob Simmons for example. After volunteering at the dining room in Holden for five years, Simmons stepped up to the plate and took over the whole operation when the site’s manager became ill.

“It’s basically the people – that’s why I’m there,” said Simmons, 62. “And you learn a lot from the elderly. I like to greet the people, tell them it’s nice to see them, and make a nice atmosphere for them. Just seeing them so happy blesses my soul. I love them.”

And then there is the husband and wife team, Ray and Louise Perkins, who have been volunteering at Meals for Me for at least 16 years.

One day a week, the couple picks up meals from the Bangor kitchen, housed in the Freese’s Building, and delivers them to homebound seniors in the Orrington area.

The Perkinses, who have been married 60 years, rarely miss a Tuesday. Ray, formerly of the U.S. Postal Service, is accustomed to delivering things in all kinds of weather, so he’s usually undeterred by inclement conditions.

“We are so lucky and thankful for the good lives we’ve had, so we’re giving back,” he said. “Folks appreciate our visit and the meal so much. That appreciation is what keeps us volunteering.”

This appreciation of volunteers comes not only from patrons of Meals for Me, but also from staff.

“I am amazed at the variety of people who volunteer,” said Roberta Macko, director of volunteer services at Eastern Agency on Aging. “There are many levels of education, skills and interests among them. I am also amazed at the level of commitment these dedicated people are willing to make, and in awe of the amount of hours they are eager to give.”

Macko is quick to point out, however, that any amount of time is helpful.

“I think that some people would like to volunteer but are afraid of the time commitment,” she said. “They think if they can’t give a lot than there’s no point in volunteering at all, but that is simply not true. Every bit helps. And we always need more volunteers.”

While every volunteer in every nonprofit agency is special and makes a difference in someone’s life, the impact of the home delivery volunteers at Meals for Me is raised a notch.

Often these delivery drivers are the only human contact an older person will have in the course of a day. For people who spend the majority of their time home alone, a friendly greeting and a warm smile are worth as much emotionally as the meal is nutritionally.

And so it’s true, actions speak louder than words. And the actions of volunteers are much louder than the short description of the word in the dictionary.

For more information on volunteering, call Roberta Macko at 941-2865.

Carol Higgins is communications director at Eastern Agency on Aging. For information on EAA, call 941-2865 or log on www.eaaa.org.