Get to Know WoodmenLife’s Partner Organization: Meals on Wheels

WoodmenLife is committed to helping in communities across the country. It’s a value that our associates embrace. Each year, WoodmenLife offers associates paid time off to volunteer in the community. Associates have the option to use that time to volunteer with one of WoodmenLife’s eight partner organizations.

Learn more about one of those organizations, Meals on Wheels, as told by the WoodmenLife team leader Sara Clapham.

Tell us a little about Meals on Wheels.

Meals on Wheels is a program sponsored by the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging (ENOA). The WoodmenLife team delivers meals to elderly and homebound individuals. Our route takes us to three different apartment buildings, all within a 1-mile radius of the Home Office.

How does Meals on Wheels align with WoodmenLife and our values?

Meals on Wheels aligns closely with our National Community Focus of fighting hunger. Many of the individuals we serve rarely, or never, leave their apartments. They depend on the meal deliveries for their food.

Our Meals on Wheels team exemplifies the value of collaborative spirit. Our route requires us to have a volunteer available every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. That means we need to have a shift filled three times a week, every single week. In 2023, the Meals on Wheels team completed 143 shifts. We wouldn’t have been able to cover the route if it wasn’t for the willingness to swap shifts and help each other out.

The team members also demonstrate that they value service to others. Prior to 2024, we would only deliver to one apartment building. At the end of last year, the ENOA reached out to see if we would be willing to add more clients to our route. I brought the proposal to the team, and they voted unanimously and enthusiastically to take on the new clients — even though it meant adding more stops and time to the route.

Why is Meals on Wheels important to you personally?

Meals on Wheels is important to me because I don’t know where some of our clients would get their food if there weren’t volunteers willing to bring it to their front door.

WoodmenLife associates Sara Clapham, Terri Pressley and Denise Cushman volunteer for Meals on Wheels.

What inspired you to start volunteering in your community?

The world doesn’t work without people who are willing to help those in need. I have the time and the ability to volunteer, so I do. To me, volunteering is an underappreciated way to learn something new. There are so many different opportunities in Omaha for volunteering. I usually end up learning about a community center I didn’t previously know existed or finding a new neighborhood I’ve never been to. No matter what, I always walk away feeling a little more informed about my community.

What kind of work do WoodmenLife volunteers do for Meals on Wheels?

Every day, the ENOA drops a cooler with individually packaged meals at various apartment buildings in the area. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, our volunteers (either an individual or a pair) drive to the first building, pick up the meals and then deliver them to the clients on our list that day. After our volunteers finish with the deliveries at the first building, they drive to the next two stops to deliver the rest of the meals. We knock on the client’s door and personally hand them their meals — that’s important as it could be the client’s only social interaction that day.

Tell us a little about how you feel after completing a volunteer shift.

After I complete a Meals on Wheels delivery, I feel good knowing that the client received their food for the day.

The Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging (ENOA) presented WoodmenLife with the Spirit of Aging Award in the Outstanding Volunteer category.

Can you talk a little about the camaraderie among WoodmenLife associates as they volunteer together?

Volunteers get to choose if they want to go alone or partner with someone, and about half go alone. However, volunteers are scheduled months in advance, so it’s not uncommon for a conflict to arise, and they may no longer be able to deliver on their date. When this happens, I send an email out to the whole group asking for a substitute — sometimes the day of — and I’m always able to get this shift filled within minutes. I see our camaraderie in how well the team fills in for others to make sure the clients are fed.

Anything else you’d like to add?

The Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging presents Spirit of Aging Awards annually. WoodmenLife was chosen as the winner of the Outstanding Volunteer category this year!

Read More

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