Wheels keep moving despite pandemic
When coronavirus precautions were first enacted in March, many service providers relying on face-to-face interaction discontinued or canceled services — not the Meals on Wheels program serving Connoquenessing Township and some of the surrounding areas.
The Connoquenessing Township group continued to operate through the pandemic. And aside from some wearing face masks, little changed for the group, which is based out of the White Oak Springs Presbyterian Church, 102 Shannon Road, Renfrew.
“We kept going and just never shut down,” said the organization's on-site coordinator, 92-year-old Katie Douthett, of Connoquenessing Township. “We're so grateful our volunteers stayed with us through all this fussing.”
In March, the Meals on Wheels program that serves Butler city and township suspended services, leaving the Butler County Agency on Aging to fill in the gap for senior residents served by that particular program, which reopened in May.
As things began to close in March, Douthett and others in the region were faced with a similar decision. Douthett said the organization asked its volunteers if they would be willing to continue making and delivering meals.
“They said they were and our drivers like most of our clients, so nobody wanted to abandon them,” Douthett said of the response.
Douthett noted the number of clients they have rose over the past few months as senior citizens became wary of leaving their houses.
“Our clients are older and lonely. Some of them are just post-operation and they only need it for a few weeks,” Douthett said.
The organization currently delivers meals to 36 clients for $6 a day. As a small nonprofit, Douthett said the group relies on client funds.She began volunteering with the group in 1995 when she retired from her job at a Kmart. Her late sister cooked for the group and introduced Douthett to the organization.“I call up my retired friends all the time and say that 'if you're tired of doing nothing, we could use you,'” she said.In the meantime, she added, “We're just going to keep giving good meals, no matter what.”One of the cooks, Ruth Monnie, agreed with the assessment and said, “We felt that the people who received this needed it badly. Most of them are elderly, ill and couldn't get out easier than anybody else.”She said the volunteers were left to decide when and where to wear masks along with following safety guidelines.Once group gatherings are permitted, Monnie and Douthett said they want to hold an event to thank the volunteers, who use their own cars and pay for their own gas to complete their work.“The clients are always grateful to have a hot meal and see somebody who checks on them; sometimes that's the only person they'll see all day,” Marie said.
