With the holiday vacation from school drawing near, you and the kids ideally will have some extra time on your mitten-covered hands. Use this opportunity to teach them about the true meaning of the season by joining a goodwill mission with Wee Volunteer, a growing nonprofit that offers programs specially designed for preschool and elementary-aged children to take an active role in philanthropy.
Every day during winter break, except for Christmas and New Year’s Day, Wee Volunteer hosts a morning excursion from Meals on Wheels volunteer kitchen in Dallas to two local senior apartment complexes where families hand-deliver nutritious, pre-packaged meals straight to the front doors of the elderly and disabled, many of whom live alone and may not have frequent visitors.
Here’s how the two-hour service trips works: Parents, working one-on-one with their own kids, grab meals from the cooler and head out in search of their assigned apartment numbers. Hot and cold portions are packed separately into small bags, so let your kids take ownership by carrying a few of the meals themselves. Knocking on the doors and shouting “Meals on Wheels!” is part of the whole experience.
Most recipients graciously and quickly accept the meals. Others may even invite you inside for a chat. Between stops, you’ll have ample opportunity to talk about how those without a full pantry of food deserve good health, care and attention. Think of this door-to-door as “reverse trick-or-treating.”
Since the Christmas holidays are here, feel free to wish everyone your season’s greetings and to some, a “Happy Birthday” too. For recipients with recent birthdays, Wee Volunteer leaders gather the entire group at their door to deliver the meal and to sing the birthday song in unison, a gesture that your little ones won’t soon forget.
Send an email to Wee Volunteer founder Michelle Chase to register for Meals on Big Wheels, as the program is called. It’s “big” because you’ll be getting to and from the stops by riding on the Locomotion Party Bus, a retrofitted school bus that’s painted with peace signs, piano keys and American flags. The hard-to-miss bus looks like it surfed a rainbow wave down from Woodstock. So climb aboard, get comfy on a seat covered in orange shag carpet and get ready to bring a little peace of mind to those in need.
Published December 2013
