An Outing

Written by: Kate Snyder, Executive Assistant

In 2005, Elizabeth, one of our Meals on Wheels clients, pushed the button at the demolition of an East End housing complex where she had formerly resided. The honor was bestowed upon her for holding the position of oldest out-going resident. Now she prides herself on being the oldest inhabitant of her new apartment building. Elizabeth is sometimes coy about her exact age, but she’s definitely into her 9th decade of life.

A long-time resident of the East End, Elizabeth is a veritable wealth of knowledge about local politics and the ongoing development of this area. She knows the details of the building going in on Penn Avenue and what shops there are at the growing center of East Side. She can tell you how many units are available at the new housing complex on Penn Circle.

But she’s never seen any of those things.

Since moving into her new apartment two years ago, Elizabeth has been homebound. She receives meals from EECM and occasionally entertains a few friends, mostly from the building, but she hasn’t been able to venture out in quite a while. She avidly reads the newspapers and watches television to keep up to date on what’s happening in her neighborhood, but the information comes to her third-hand.

Or it did…until a few weeks ago, that is.

Kim, one of the volunteers who delivers Elizabeth’s meals, struck up a relationship with the elderly woman through their interactions over Meals on Wheels. Kim was impressed by her interest in the development of the area and saddened that Elizabeth hadn’t been able to see the things she was reading about.

So Kim arranged a special treat for her. After her deliveries were complete, Kim and her partner-in-volunteering, Trish, came back and picked up Elizabeth. They drove her around the neighborhood to the new construction sites, and at each, Elizabeth would tell them all about the work that had been done and what was still being planned, eyes gleaming at seeing it in person. They went out to lunch together, did a little shopping, then brought Elizabeth home.

All three women had a wonderful time and are planning on making it a regular event. Kim says “It was sweet – she got all dressed up for the outing and it clearly made her so happy to be out in the neighborhood.”

This extraordinary generosity on the part of our volunteers, going well above and beyond what is asked of them, is just one of the many reasons that we love them so dearly!