Cami Smith:
Hi, and welcome to & so much more. I'm your host Cami Smith, and I am here with these wonderful ladies. I feel like I'm on a girl squad right now and I am loving it. This is the team from Meals on Wheels, which is one of Centra's Community Partners, and we're going to tell you a little bit about that in a few minutes. But first I'm going to let them tell you a little bit about themselves. First we have Kris Shabestar and she is the executive director at Meals on Wheels. And then immediately to her right, we have Becky Tweedy, who is our communications director, and then we have Sarah Kerr, who is volunteer coordinator. And each of them are going to share, yes, their heart about Meals on Wheels, but also just how crazy cool that they get to provide the service to our community that we love. So why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself. We can start right here with Kris.
Kris Shabestar:
Well, I've been the director at Meals on Wheels for, I guess it'll be 12 years in May. I can't believe that.
Cami Smith:
Wow.
Kris Shabestar:
It is the most wonderful position in the world. I think a couple people here would disagree with me, but I think I have the best job in town because I get to meet the most amazing people. I think we deliver to some of the most interesting people in town. Some have traveled the world and done incredible things and other people have lived very meaningful, quiet lives, and our volunteers are incredible. And just to be able to have an impact is just the best thing ever.
Cami Smith:
Okay. I love that. What about you, Becky?
Becky Tweedy:
So I've been with the organization on staff since 2015 but I started out as a board member and so had a good sense of the organization before then. I love, I will challenge Kris, I have the best job.
Cami Smith:
Uh-oh.
Becky Tweedy:
It is just, every day is a joy and a blessing. You get to work with great people, the recipients that we serve are so grateful and there's a wonderful, a huge need that we're filling. The volunteers, as Kris said, are tremendous and Sarah will back us up on that.
Sarah Kerr:
I'll take you [inaudible 00:02:16].
Becky Tweedy:
But everybody's happy. It's just, people like to donate to us, they like to support us, they enjoy, and we love what we're doing. So it's a real blessing and it's a great opportunity.
Cami Smith:
Love that.
Sarah Kerr:
I'm Sarah Kerr. Yes. I started with Meals on Wheels, it'll be two years in June, so it feels like much longer because the community of nonprofit and our family of staff at Meals on Wheels has just been incredibly welcoming. And even though they keep talking about they have the best job, I definitely do despite what they say, truly, because I have the joy of getting to take routes to meet our recipients. But I also work with some of the most amazing folks who are really building legacies amongst their friends, their families. For some of them it's a social call and they do the delivering and then they go out to lunch and catch up. We have grandparents who take their grandchildren with them. And so it's really neat to see all the different ways that people step up to help the need that we have at Lynchburg.
Cami Smith:
And what I love about what each of you has shared is that this is so personal for each of you. This is something that you're giving your time to, but this is also something that I think is pouring right back into you and that's so evident as you talk about it. And so for those who are listening who maybe have never heard about Meals on Wheels or, like me, who've heard about it so many times, but how does it work? What are the ins and outs? What can you tell us about that process?
Kris Shabestar:
I think it's really interesting. Most people know something about Meals on Wheels. I think all of us recognize that there are Meals on Wheels organizations all across the country, but what most people don't recognize is that each one of them is unique. Meals on Wheels in Lynchburg is very different than perhaps the one that serves your grandmother in Florida or your aunt in Maine. And Meals on Wheels of Greater Lynchburg is 100% supported by this community. We don't have any state or federal funding, and so the way I think about it is we are an entirely community-supported organization and so it's our responsibility to meet the needs of this community. And so we serve people of all ages and all incomes, and that is a surprise to a lot of people. Last year, the youngest adult we served was 18 years old and the oldest was 102.
Cami Smith:
Oh wow.
Kris Shabestar:
Yes.
Becky Tweedy:
A lot of people have the sense that Meals on Wheels is for the very old, for the elderly or low income, which again, we do serve both of those demographics. But like Kris said, all ages, all incomes, a lot of, some people can afford to pay for their meals and we are delighted to provide those for them. Others can't afford it, and so because of the generosity of this community, their meals are provided at no cost to them. And again, like she said, all ages. Yes, we serve the more senior adults, but also we serve the 40-year-old who started having seizures and could no longer drive or go to work or stand up long enough to fix her own meals. And so there are all sorts of different situations that can cause someone to be home bound or incapable of preparing an appropriate meal for themselves and we love to be able to meet those needs.
Cami Smith:
Wow, it really humanizes a community. I think sometimes when we say the word community, we can say it so flippantly as just this nondescript group of people, and so when you say it like that, the 40-year-old, the 18-year-old, in their circumstances, I think we have all, at some point in our lives, found ourselves in circumstances that were completely unforeseen or something where you needed to ask for help, which is hard. Am I right?
Sarah Kerr:
Yes.
Cami Smith:
It is hard to ask for help.
Becky Tweedy:
Yes.
Cami Smith:
And there are so many who are willing. And so I love just the humanity involved in this, the community serving the community, and it's just a cycle. It's a really powerful cycle. So Meals on Wheels in our area, you said it's different in every single area. So what does our area serve? I know that it's more than just Lynchburg, but is each individual county or city separate? Are they independent of each other? Is this all Meals on Wheels? What does that setup look like?
Kris Shabestar:
Meals on Wheels of Greater Lynchburg serves Lynchburg and the close in counties. Now every meal we provide is made hot, fresh daily at Virginia Baptist Hospital.
Cami Smith:
Ohhh, [inaudible 00:06:59].
Kris Shabestar:
There we go.
Cami Smith:
I love that.
Kris Shabestar:
And they're great meals. We actually just updated the menus and we've gotten so much great feedback. It's wonderful. And every meal is heart and diabetes friendly and the dieticians review it and 36%, I think, of the meals are even more special. Maybe they need to be minced or chopped because of swallowing issues or they're renal diets or someone has an allergy or they're not allowed leafy greens because of medication interactions. So there's a lot of details there we can get into later. So there's a lot of details, but it really-
Becky Tweedy:
We're only limited by time and temperature. We need to keep the meals hot and fresh.
Cami Smith:
I see.
Becky Tweedy:
And so the time that it takes to get, so we serve the city of Lynchburg and then into each of the surrounding counties. We serve into Madison Heights. We don't go quite as far as Amherst. We serve Forest but not Bedford, the town of Bedford. And we've expanded a little bit further into Campbell County. We have a pickup location in Rustburg now which is great and we're really expanding that way. But Campbell County is huge.
Cami Smith:
Oh my goodness, yes.
Becky Tweedy:
And so we don't go quite as far as Alta Vista or Concord. So again, we're limited only as far as time and temperature to keep the food safe, and volunteers. The further we go, we need more volunteers to deliver those meals.
Cami Smith:
Okay. So really just practicality.
Becky Tweedy:
Yes, yes.
Cami Smith:
Yeah. Okay.
Kris Shabestar:
Well, I was going to say, every meal is hot, fresh. It's a warm meal and when the volunteer gets there, it is a connection. That is, I think, incredibly vital because yes, we're providing a hot meal, a healthy meal, but we're also providing a safety check because the volunteer is making sure that they answer the door. If they don't answer the door, we follow up and check on them. Last year we made over 4,000 calls just to make sure that there was a reason they didn't answer the door. Sometimes there was a doctor's appointment that ran late or they overslept, but other times there was a real crisis, and we maybe called emergency services or a family member or something like that. And so we talk about Meals on Wheels and everyone assumes, well, you're just delivering food. But that's not it at all. It really is, yes, it's food and the nutrition is vital. It is a connection to the community. It is a friend who cares enough to, when they ask a question, they wait for the answer. And that safety check.
Becky Tweedy:
There's so much data now about isolation. We all felt it during COVID. We all have a sense of what that feels like. But for the folks that we serve, they're still home bound, they're still isolated. And so there's quite a bit of data about the effects of isolation and loneliness on the home bound, on seniors especially. And Kris, you can probably remember this data better than I can, but it adds years to their effective life and it's the equivalent of smoking a pack of cigarettes a day just on the increased risk of heart attack, of stroke, of depression, of that sort of thing. So anything that we can do, we often say it's, yes, we're delivering the food, but we're delivering so much more than a meal. And Sarah sees that every day with the volunteers that she talks to.
Cami Smith:
Yes, yes. Tell me about these volunteers.
Sarah Kerr:
Like I said before, they're the best folks I've met in a really long time. It's amazing to see the impact of an individual or a family, but it's also, we have been talking a lot about a lot of our day support, adult day support programs such as the Arc, Doss Estates, just naming a few, enCircle, they drive for us numerous times a week. And so it's been really neat to see the connections that are made between these organizations that are also isolated populations due to physical or mental disabilities that they've been fighting to overcome or just working with throughout their lives, and to match them with folks who also look forward to seeing and asking them about their day, and it's been very enlightening on my side just to see how great that connection is. And if somebody's not home, they're like, they'll call the office and be like, where's Mary today? She wasn't home, she didn't answer the phone, and then they want me to call them back. So it's been really neat to see the connections.
It's almost like a second family to a lot of our volunteers. They really truly care. They go above and beyond. I mean, again, we don't ask them to do extra things but a lot of them do it just because they've gotten to know our recipients as well as their families over the years. So it's a great positive impact no matter what.
Cami Smith:
And those touch points-
Becky Tweedy:
We also have a number of business partners.
Sarah Kerr:
Yes, yes.
Cami Smith:
Okay.
Becky Tweedy:
It's been so nice to develop this. A number of businesses have, and some of them also during COVID, this was a great opportunity, but you can take a little extra time at lunch, a 90-minute lunch break once a week or once a month or whatever suits and deliver a route. We have businesses that they alternate through their staff, and so different ones go each time and-
Cami Smith:
Oh wow.
Becky Tweedy:
It is a team building exercise. It is an opportunity for their employees to recognize the commitment that the business has to the community. And again, back to your definition of community, it's so much, we use that term very, very flippantly a lot of times, but it has a much deeper meaning.
Cami Smith:
So I love what you're saying about these organizations that you partner with who take turns almost conditioning and teaching their employees the importance of this because, and I think you said it as well, there's a legacy where when a family does this together and you're teaching the next generation to take care of each other, and so to see that that's happening in these organizations as well, that's so encouraging to hear because not everybody gets that at home, and there's this other avenue where they're saying, we take care of each other, especially saying, do this, as a company, we're going to do this. That is very cool. And so what types of organizations, I know you guys have a relationship with Centra and I do want to touch on that, but tell me some of these organizations.
Sarah Kerr:
We have several civic groups. The Masonic Lodge has been a huge help in the past. We have the Lions Club, Kiwanis. There are a lot of groups who, again, are making that commitment. We also have a lot of churches, Sunday school classes. We'll have different members of the administration at the churches who also take part in that, who, again, are really committing to their mission of serving the community, so...
Cami Smith:
Yeah, yeah.
Becky Tweedy:
So the churches in Lynchburg have been a support from day one. I mean, they were a huge part. First Pres was one of the organizations that helped us at our founding, which was almost 50 years ago.
Cami Smith:
Wow, wow.
Sarah Kerr:
Holy Cross.
Becky Tweedy:
Right. Holy Cross. And I don't want to leave anybody out, but those were two that have been committed since the very beginning. St. Paul's. And they've helped in so many different ways. Obviously financially, the donations are critical, but as Sarah said, the volunteers that man complete routes has been wonderful. The other things that churches and many civic groups do as well is provide other types of support. Birthday boxes. We deliver a birthday gift to each of our recipients on their birthday, and it is the most heartwarming thing. So we ask volunteers to prepare a box.
Kris Shabestar:
Or anyone in the community.
Becky Tweedy:
Anyone can do it, yes. But they fill a box of little novelties and niceties and the box is wrapped and it's delivered sometimes with a serenade, depending on who delivers it, and the response is overwhelming. I mean, we have people that call and say, I haven't gotten a birthday present for I can't remember how long.
Kris Shabestar:
20 years.
Becky Tweedy:
And you know, you think about that-
Kris Shabestar:
Ah, that was just-
Becky Tweedy:
I know, that one made us all cry.
Sarah Kerr:
Yesterday, we had one that was like, this is the only president I'm going to get. I just wanted you to know how much it meant to me. And you're just trying not to sob over the phone as they're telling you this because you're like, I take everything for granted.
Cami Smith:
Wow. You're helping people feel seen in so many ways.
Becky Tweedy:
Exactly.
Cami Smith:
It's one thing to take care of somebody's needs. It's another thing to just say Happy Birthday.
Kris Shabestar:
Well, and I think that is one of the things that is so incredibly important at Meals on Wheels. Our volunteers really, really care. I spend a lot of time thanking our volunteers, I know Sarah does on a daily basis. But almost every single time I talk to a volunteer and say thank you so much for what you're doing, we couldn't do it without you, they turn around and say, oh, I get so much more out of this than I could ever give.
Cami Smith:
Yeah.
Sarah Kerr:
Exactly.
Cami Smith:
What can you tell me about the relationship between Meals on Wheels and Centra Health specifically?
Kris Shabestar:
So Centra Health has been an important partner with Meals on Wheels for a long time. When I first came to Meals on Wheels almost 12 years ago, they were providing food for just a few of our routes. I think we had one route that was picked up here that sometimes was two. It was just, they'd pick up in the kitchen. And it was kind of a, I hate to say this, in case of emergency backup. If everything happened at our normal kitchen and our provider at that time, we had another backup, and it was great for this area of town. But we have grown tremendously over the last few years. We were already on a huge growth trajectory before COVID, and then since 2020 it has just skyrocketed.
And Centra has been incredibly supportive and responsive during the entire time. And as I mentioned, they're now providing all of our meals and so that has been great. And we've had a lot of discussions, I've been on several committees and we've had a lot of discussions again about the impact of good nutrition and keeping people at home and reducing readmittance, and we've had many volunteers from Centra over the years. And so the grant opportunities and the sponsorship that they've been able to provide for us has been very important, especially these last few years because all of the monies that they've provided is basically paying for meals in our community.
Cami Smith:
Yes. And what I love so much about hearing you guys talk, and it's a warming conversation, honestly. The mission and the heart behind what you're doing, it just warms you as you hear it. And when I think about even getting to be a caregiver here at Centra and hearing the why behind so many of our lab technicians or nurses or doctors, providers, there is that alignment of just that warmth, of just wanting to be a part of making somebody's life that much better. And so it is, to me, it's just a logical partnership. It just makes sense. And I love that that Centra gets to be a part of what you guys are doing on a daily basis. So how would you let someone who's like, how do I get to be a part of this, what do I do? I know you have your website.
Becky Tweedy:
It's so easy.
Cami Smith:
Oh, see, and that's what I was hoping. I was hoping that that was the answer.
Becky Tweedy:
So go to the website, which is www.mealslynchburg.org and there's loads of information about the organization. But if you click on the volunteer tab, there are videos that give you an overview of what it's like to deliver. There's the copy of the handbook that you can read ahead of time. There's an online application that is quick and simple and it goes to Sarah's inbox and she'll respond to you right away. You can talk about the ease of getting signed up and scheduled.
Sarah Kerr:
We like that easy button. So once folks submit an application, we basically just have a conversation about their interests as far as how often they want to drive, if there's a particular area they're more comfortable driving in than others or wherever the need is. Right now we have a significant demand for people who are willing to substitute, and so that's where I'm really trying to fill the gap that we have right now. But the neat thing is it's not, a lot of people feel like, oh, well I work during the day, my job won't let me off, how can I still help? So one of the other ways that we have as an avenue for people to volunteer is to do some of our a la carte items. So if they're not available during our lunchtime deliveries, they can do things at a different time, like after hours. We provide animeals, we have an animeals program that provides animal food for some of our recipients so that their pets can stay in their house.
Cami Smith:
That's amazing.
Sarah Kerr:
Yes, it's about alleviating isolation. So there's that. We have several programs that are geared more toward the holidays, such as we deliver poinsettias to each of our recipients. We supply blizzard boxes in case of inclement weather. So there are other options. We work in conjunction with Parkview Mission also to provide food boxes for some of our most at risk recipients as well. So we have other options, folding note cards. If there's an opportunity-
Cami Smith:
[inaudible 00:21:41].
Sarah Kerr:
Yes. So again, that goes back to that whole, my child's in school, they need community service hours. How can I help? We work with you to make that happen? So we are flexible.
Kris Shabestar:
I'm also going to brag on Sarah a little bit. She is the most organized person. We've talked about businesses and churches and civic groups. We have individuals that drive every Monday or the second and fourth Thursday or the fifth Friday three times a year. But we also have people that say, I am not working next Monday or Tuesday, do you have an opening and when can I sub? Or in two weeks I'm available Thursday, call me if you need someone. And she keeps track of it all, and I am so impressed.
Sarah Kerr:
Thank you.
Kris Shabestar:
And so people who have erratic schedules can also volunteer. And that has worked really well on that substitute driver. And you don't see the same people every week, and that's a little bit harder, but you see a variety of the most amazing people and you can go all over town and discover Lynchburg and the areas you might not have ever known. Or maybe just say, I want to drive in this certain area, and if there's an opening there, you could just drive in that area.
Sarah Kerr:
Yeah. We've had several volunteers, actually some of my once a week Monday drivers, who said, I've grown up and lived in Madison Heights my entire life. He said, I thought there was a part of Hogtown, as he calls it, that he hadn't seen, and yet we have found places that he had not seen. So it's been interesting to see that. Or we've had other volunteers who are like, I've donated to this place my entire life and I never knew where the actual building was and it's on this route. I found it today. And it's funny how even our volunteers, sadly, I'm telling a trade secret here, we have a lot of things that happen in our office and we qualify it or quantify it based off of what route it's on. And so a lot of our volunteers have even been like, I took Route 120 today and I saw this place that was so neat. Why don't we... Things like that that are just funny to see even how they've adopted our Meals on Wheels lingo that we use in the office that we thought was internal only.
Cami Smith:
It's becoming a family.
Sarah Kerr:
It is, it is. It really is. And it's just neat to see that transition and all of the places again that you may drive by 15 times, never realize that there's a need there, because from the outside the façade looks one way but inside it's a different story. Or like they said that, there's so much to be learned about our community so that it really is a community, not just lip service of this is a service we provide. It's actually getting in there and seeing it and making a difference.
Cami Smith:
Yeah, look a little deeper. Or look a little longer if you need to. So-
Sarah Kerr:
Especially in the world of social media where everything is this production, and it's not all that way in real life.
Cami Smith:
Yes. We're showing the best of us, not the areas that maybe need some work.
Sarah Kerr:
Exactly.
Cami Smith:
Someone mentioned referrals. What does that mean? Are you referring someone who may need a meal? Are you referring a volunteer? What does that mean?
Kris Shabestar:
So referrals, internally, we talk about that for new recipients. And so if you know of someone that you think might need a meal, a neighbor, a friend, a family member, you can do that on our website as well, or you can call the office. And we get referrals from all kinds of people. I mean, generally we suggest that the person that you're referring knows that you're going to call. Yes. Because everyone's kind of afraid of who are you and why are you calling me? They think it's a scam. And that's why we do not want to call anyone that doesn't know that we're going to be calling them.
But we have a lot of programs, and in general, from the time they first call, frequently they're getting their first meal within a week, I mean four or five days. And we go out and visit everyone and talk to them about the program and what we can do and make sure that we understand their needs. But in a crisis, if someone calls and says, I had a woman call and say, I have been taking care of my mother-in-law, but my mother in California fell and I'm about to get on a plane, can you deliver a meal tomorrow? And we're like, sure, and we delivered a meal tomorrow. And-
Becky Tweedy:
A lot of our referrals come from the medical community, from social workers, from discharge nurses, from hospice, all sorts of-
Kris Shabestar:
Nurse navigators here at Centra.
Becky Tweedy:
And so referrals can be from a medical professional, it can be from a family member, a neighbor, a friend or self-referral. People can call themselves and say, I just, I don't have the energy to cook anymore. Is that something you can provide? So we like it, again, the easy button. We want to make it just as easy as possible for people to get the service they need.
Kris Shabestar:
And that was one of the younger people we were serving. We received a call from Centra because a gentleman who was wheelchair-bound was about to have back surgery and they asked us to go in and we went in for a home visit because we thought it'd be good, a nurse thought it'd be good, first of all, for him to get meals beforehand to build up some strength. And when we went to visit him, we realized that he had a younger disabled son living with him. And as we talked to him, we realized that they really both had been living on, I hate to say it, potato chips and peanut butter. And so he went in for surgery. We were serving both of them for a few weeks before his surgery. He went for surgery. We continued to serve his son while he was out of commission, and then when he got back home, we continued to serve both of them until he was able to prepare meals again.
And having that ability to make common sense decisions and look at an entire situation and be in someone's home and talk to them about their needs is just phenomenal.
Sarah Kerr:
And I think too, there's a little bit of a misconception in the community, at least that I've encountered, for folks who aren't that familiar with our program who think that once you start, you stay on it forever. And that's really not the case. We have several folks who, like you said, may have surgery, need it for a few months, and then once they're better, they call and say, I'm good now, thank you so much for your program, couldn't have made it without you. It really made a difference.
Becky Tweedy:
Those are the great calls when someone says-
Sarah Kerr:
Exactly.
Becky Tweedy:
... I'm better, I can be on my own, I'm independent now. We love that.
Cami Smith:
And you were part of that.
Becky Tweedy:
Yes.
Sarah Kerr:
And sadly, I mean, I say sadly, we rejoice in the office just as much as their family members do when they may have been in a rehab facility from an injury or a surgery come home and we're like, we're so glad. I mean, that sounds cheesy probably, but it's the truth, we do. And likewise, if someone passes away, we are equally as sad. So it's not just, again, not lip surface. It's all true.
Becky Tweedy:
So another thing that came up some years ago was, and Kris just alluded to this, we had been addressing needs after the fact when someone was being discharged from the hospital or that type of thing. But one of... We were visiting doctor's offices, local physician's offices, and someone said, well, can we request that a patient be served in advance of a procedure? So many of the people that go in for procedures are malnourished, they are run down, they're compromised in so many ways, and if they could just have some consistent nutrition and be built up a little bit for a few weeks before they go, their chances of success would skyrocket.
Cami Smith:
Wow.
Becky Tweedy:
And it's one of those light bulb moments. You're thinking, why didn't we think of that sooner, right?
Cami Smith:
Yeah. It just makes sense. Yeah.
Becky Tweedy:
Right. And so again, we love being able to just use common sense and serve people because it makes sense to.
Cami Smith:
Yeah. You're partnering with the members of our community in so many different ways. You're allowing them to serve if they can. You're serving those who need the help. I love that about help. It ties in with what you were sharing about that particular gentleman and his son getting ready for things. It's not just about not being able to do them right now, but you're playing a vital role in the journey for health for so many people so that's invaluable. It really is.
Kris Shabestar:
Well, and our goal is to keep people home longer, as long as they can be, and that really is about education. And I think that is one of my main jobs is educating people, because as we talked at the very beginning, I think people had a misconception about what Meals on Wheels is. I'm not going to accept charity. Well, that's why some people pay for it. Okay, you don't have to accept charity. Whatever works for you. Or, well, I'm not sick enough. Well, how about if we help you before you become sick?
Cami Smith:
Yes.
Becky Tweedy:
Let's work on that. This is the goal.
Kris Shabestar:
I was visiting someone and I said, so what did you have to eat today? It was mid-afternoon. Well, coffee and cookies. It's like, well, yeah, that tastes good, but if you don't want to get dizzy and you don't want to fall, maybe we need to get something else in there. And so talking, and it was easy and it was convenient and it was an older woman and just that education component of let's think about long-term sustainability.
Cami Smith:
Yes. And what that must feel like for her to hear this person cares that I don't get dizzy and fall. And when you talk about the isolation, just hearing someone else's voice speak into what, for you day to day, can maybe just get a little bit hazy and blurry and it becomes your every day. That education, I can see how that can be an important component.
Sarah Kerr:
It's always a surprising component to the new volunteer training that we conduct when someone starts to let them know, a lot of our recipients do not have an emergency contact. A lot of the ones that do, that doesn't necessarily mean they're local and are able to step in should an emergency arise. So really truly, our volunteers in this, our staff are the people that they interact with the most. Our program coordinator at the moment, she laughs because she could probably tell you a whole lot of information that probably no one else needs to know, but I mean, we really do have relationships with our recipients as well in the office. But the volunteers truly are that person that they look forward to seeing, and I can't tell you how many times we've had feedback as just a thank you randomly, no real reason, no birthday box. They just let us know, hey, we just appreciate the volunteers.
I had someone that called a few weeks ago who was canceling service after a few years and she said, I'm not going to lie. She said, I want to keep it just because your volunteers are so great and they really asked me how I'm doing, do I need any help, offered to help do things around the house that she couldn't. And she said, I thought about fibbing for a little bit just so I could keep that interaction. She said, but I just felt guilty because someone else might need that meal. So it's a funny component to that as well, that again, it's not just, like we've said before, the food is a vehicle to the relationships that we create amongst the community members.
Cami Smith:
Yeah. And those relationships can continue when the meals stop and that's another very interesting thing. I feel like we live in a time where we don't know our neighbors. You may not know anyone living on your street and that's normal for some reason. And this is cutting into that. This is like, let's not make that normal anymore. Let's get to know our neighbors. Let's ask the questions and build those relationships. So thank you. Thank you all for sharing this and for letting us hear the heart behind it. And I know I've learned so much more just about even the education that's provided and the relationship that's provided. And so I hope those of you who are listening can walk away from this and when you see that Meals on Wheels truck, when you see the logo and you hear about it, share the stories that you've heard while listening today and volunteer. Take some time if you have time.
Sarah Kerr:
Yes please. I'll definitely get you hooked up with things to fill your time.
Cami Smith:
And head to mealslynchburg.org and that is where you can get the process started. Whether you want to volunteer, if you want to donate. If you wanted to fill out the referral like we talked about, you can do that there as well. And then also, we did have the opportunity to share a story of someone here at Centra who volunteers and we have that in our newsletter this month. And so you can head to our website, centrahealth.com, and you'll see our newsletter posted there. And just take the time to listen and if it's not to us, then to these wonderful stories who are telling about our community. So thank you ladies for joining me today, and thank you those for listening in on & so much more.
