Meals On Wheels Volunteer Drivers Recognized

By Shannon Hicks

The undercroft at Trinity Episcopal Church on Main Street was busy with more than 50 of the 118 Newtown Meals on Wheels volunteer drivers last Tuesday morning, May 8. In recognition of the many hours the drivers donate to deliver meals every Monday through Friday to recipients all over town, Ashlar of Newtown and the board of directors provided a complimentary breakfast and coffee to the volunteers. The breakfast foods and coffee were prepared by Ashlar of Newtown, which has been in partnership with Meals On Wheels since 1995. Newtown’s Meals on Wheels has been operating for more than 30 years.

First Selectman Herb Rosenthal and Tom Gutner, the president of Ashlar, were on hand to praise the volunteers, many of whom have served the nonprofit organization for five years or more.

“We serve 70 meals each week to the 14 clients we have right now,” said Pat Barrett, a co-president of Newtown Meals on Wheels. “That’s a low number of clients for this organization, but it’s still an ongoing need.”

This past winter was a great season for Newtown MOW, Mrs Barrett pointed out. Unlike past years, there was only one day of deliveries cancelled due to weather.

“That’s an all-time low for us,” she said.

Mr Rosenthal also addressed the gathering before recognition certificates were handed out.

“Meals on Wheels is one of the greatest volunteer organizations in Newtown. We’re very lucky to have so many volunteers,” he said. “Without volunteers there is no way Newtown could be the great town that it is.

“Thank you for what you do,” he added.

Newtown’s Meals on Wheels drivers are all volunteer, unlike Danbury and other towns and cities that have partial or full teams of paid drivers.

“I went with one of the drivers recently and saw the impact it makes when you show up at someone’s home with a meal and stay to visit for a few minutes or even a little while,” said Mr Rosenthal. “It’s a lot more than delivering food to sustain them.”

A special honor, The Bravo-Berthe Melville Award, was presented to Martine L. Leroux and Image One Printing.

“Martine and Image One have done so much for us, we wanted to thank them for their help,” said Meals on Wheels co-president Marg Studley. The award is given to one volunteer each year to acknowledge extra commitment and effort to assist the meal service.

Eighteen drivers were honored for their assistance during the breakfast. The following drivers were presented with Five-Year Certificates: Diane Beck, Susan Corleto, Meighan Dutt, Colette Ercole, Karen and Bob Gardner, Ann and Jim Moore, Rosemary and Bob Rau, and Susan Tibbets.

Fifteen-Year Certificates were presented to Robert Alex, Darlene Jackson, Margo Lopez-Cepero, Carol Garbarino, Dolores Lussier, Judy Rosentel, and Julie Stern.

Meals On Wheels delivers hot meals Monday through Friday to residents of Newtown who are housebound or temporarily incapacitated.

To inquire into becoming a meal recipient call 426-6340 or 270-1960. To become a volunteer driver call 426-0714.