Meals on Wheels provides fans for those in need during heat wave
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Meals on Wheels is known for delivering meals to those who are seniors and/or homebound, but when the temperatures rise, they also help deliver fans to those who want one.
Within the past year, Dallas' Visiting Nurse Association Meals on Wheels have handed out over 400 fans.
"We are grateful for the hundreds of volunteers who still come out each week to deliver food and friendship and like today, some fans to keep our seniors safe and cool," said Jennifer Austin, Managing Director of Development and Communications, VNA Meals on Wheels.
CBS 11 tagged along Thursday morning with a volunteer crew that went to a few homes.
The first stop was at 99-year-old Eulalia Banuelos' house, where her smile said it all when she saw the crew arrive with a meal and a fan.
A few blocks away, 85-year-old Ida Fields welcomed a new fan, "Thank you all. I appreciate it."
While she's surviving this heat wave, it's another thing that's hurting, "Especially with food going up at the grocery store and stuff."
Austin said it's vital for volunteers to not only deliver meals while on the routes but also check in on the clients, "It's important because we need to check on them, some seniors are not as apt to ask for help and so it takes people who have a relationship to say, you know I think you could use a little help, you could use a fan."
Volunteers seeing firsthand, just how much need there is in our community.
"When it's hot like this and people have all kinds of issues not just food, they need to stay cool and I think all of us who have the means to support them I think we should," said Mahesh Aditya, who volunteered on Thursday and is the CEO of Santander Consumer, an auto lender in the DFW area.
Meals on Wheels is always looking for volunteers.
If you would like to donate or buy a fan for the organization, click here.
For Meals on Wheels in Tarrant County, click here.
For Denton County, click here.
For Collin County, click here.
