I just received this letter from Eleanor, a Meals On Wheels client in Louisiana. Eleanor suffered from polio as a child but grew up to marry and raise three children. Now in her eighties, her husband has passed and her children are long gone. She is confined to a wheelchair and lives on a very small income. I wanted you to read this in order to give you a better understanding of what Meals On Wheels means to this woman and hundreds of thousands of seniors out there that are served by our programs. I hope it makes you feel as good as it made me feel, especially around this time of year:
I can’t walk anymore. For years and years I used my arm crutches, but as I got older I started to stumble. I was afraid I would fall and I realized that I had to get a wheelchair. My legs have to stay up all the time because they swell so much. That means that I can’t cook, because I have a really hard time reaching the stove from my wheelchair. I also have difficulty stretching my dollars to afford food for meals.
The meals that the volunteer drivers deliver to me have been my savior. The volunteers are so good to me. I don’t get out much anymore and I miss many of them when I don’t see them as much.
The money given to Meals On Wheels helps all of us who don’t have a lot to live on and the good people who gave it need to know that. Meals on Wheels just means everything to me.
Thank you,
~ Eleanor