By Dave Hanson
Earlier this year, I began to volunteer for Meals on Wheels of Hamilton County, and I joined the board of directors as well. I wanted to share a bit about what drew me to becoming a part of this important organization in hopes that it might help others consider being a part of the Meals on Wheels mission.
My dad, Ron Hanson, has been an active volunteer and board member for many years, so I was always aware of what Meals on Wheels was, but I never really spent much time considering involvement despite seeing how important it was to him. I was too heads down in my own life and, admittedly, had not made giving back a priority.
Then, about two and a half years ago, I experienced a deeply difficult personal challenge that left me at one of the lowest points of my life. I realized I needed a few things – a positive distraction, a deeper sense of gratitude ingrained in my life, and a deeper purpose I could support. Honestly, I wasn’t sure where to start. All I knew is that I wanted to help people improve their lives in some sort of basic way – ideally kids or older adults, so I did a couple of things. I volunteered with the ReadUP program through the United Way, an amazing initiative with a simple purpose of helping third graders who had fallen behind in their literacy, and I went on a Meals on Wheels delivery run with my dad in Sheridan.
That ninety minute delivery run gave me the perspective I sorely needed. It helped me experience what real need is and see, first hand, the power of love and gratitude shared between two people who otherwise don’t know each other. I witnessed how something so incredibly simple – handing a person a meal, giving them a few minutes of undivided attention and saying a few words of encouragement – can be so uplifting. I saw smiles, strength, and resilience in the face of what is likely perpetual fear and anxiety. I saw the scourge that is food insecurity and the desperation and isolation that comes with it – something so utterly preventable. Ultimately, I saw that when you deliver a simple expression of love and care to someone with such a fundamental need, you experience true grace. All of this in ninety minutes. Ninety minutes I will never forget.
Meals on Wheels’ mission is so simple, yet so impactful – bring food security to the most vulnerable in our community, but my experience showed me that Meals on Wheels is even more fundamental than that. Meals on Wheels is love…it is care…it is attention…it is the human spirit at its best.
If you are seeking purpose, whatever the reason may be, and you aren’t sure where to start, consider helping Meals on Wheels. I did, and I’m so grateful for it. Take a ride with a volunteer or try a delivery route. Make a donation if that is an easier starting point. The need in the community is very real. Experience the difference that a meal, a conversation, and a helping hand can make for someone. There is no greater need any of us can fulfill than providing security and love for someone in need. It is something fully within our means, and Meals on Wheels makes that possible.