"Kind Ladies, God Bless" - Volunteers Help Seniors Age in Place

Kathryn Szczepanik receives a hot meal from Red Cross volunteers Janice Mironov and Sid Lipsky. Mironov is the mayor of East Windsor, New Jersey.

Written by Jessica Bernstein, Redcross.org

Kathryn Szczepanik, proudly states the she is "90 and a half years old." Despite visual impairments that preclude her from shopping and preparing nutritious meals, Szczepanik has been able to continue living in her own home thanks to the American Red Cross of Central New Jersey. For three years, Szczepanik has been a client of the chapter's Meals on Wheels program. The program is dedicated to fostering "aging in place" -- helping seniors remain in their own homes.

What began as a program to assist seniors in the Princeton area has developed into a service that is available to residents in 12 communities within Mercer County. The program serves more than 23,000 meals per year -- 450 each week. Volunteers deliver meals Monday through Friday. Daily contact with volunteers eases the feelings of isolation, loneliness and despair that often come with age. The visits also renew a sense of community among the elderly and disabled.

Mrs. Szczepanik eagerly awaits the volunteer's arrival each day, both for the food and the fellowship they provide. She appreciates the food's fresh quality, especially the fruit, which she "loves to death to this very day." Mrs. Szczepanik, once an avid gardener, still takes pride in her home garden and frequently escorts visitors through to admire her flowers. She is proud of her large white tulips, planted some years ago around an old barrel in the backyard. "These are the prettiest flowers in my garden and these I save for the volunteers as a way to say thank you."

Libbie (Elizabeth) Johnson is one of these volunteers. A pioneer of the program, Johnson has been delivering Meals-on-Wheels for more than 30 years. She describes the requirements for a good volunteer as "a driver's license, a sense of direction, a commitment to fellow man and the Meals-on-Wheels program, and most importantly, a sense of humor." Her favorite client story involves a retired 85 year-old dairy farmer who was blind and yet refused to live anywhere other than in his beloved farmhouse. Johnson stated that without fail, Peter followed the volunteers out to their car and raised his hand in what became known as the "benediction," saying, "Kind ladies, God bless."

Johnson, along with several other volunteers, takes responsibility for managing the program as well. She chairs the chapter's Meals-on-Wheels Taskforce, providing outreach for additional clients and recruiting new volunteers. Dedicated volunteers are the key to this lifesaving program, since volunteers are often the first to recognize changing physical needs of clients. Kevin Sullivan, CEO of the American Red Cross of Central New Jersey, describes a memorable moment when he realized the close connection between volunteers and clients. "One of our volunteers, Valerie, went to deliver a meal and found that her client did not seem to be her usual self. Because of the volunteer's Red Cross training, she was able to identify that the client was suffering from early signs of heat stroke. She got help before the client even realized she was in trouble. Left alone, the client would have become severely ill overnight and may have even perished."

The chapter's Meals-on-Wheels volunteers carry on in spite of adversity. Sullivan explains, "One of the most outstanding moments for me of how truly important this program is to the community came during Hurricane Floyd. Our community was hit very hard by flooding during September of 1999. Many of the area roadways were washed out causing people to find alternate routes. Our volunteers persevered during this time, many of them rolling up their pant legs to wade through several feet of water. They are truly dedicated to making sure that our clients are well cared for and safe."

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