by Gail Ploen
For almost 5 decades, volunteers with the TLC Meals on Wheels program have been providing South Metro’s homebound senior and disabled adult citizens with nutritious, home-delivered meals and friendly human contact. Currently there are 550 volunteers doing a multitude of tasks from preparing the food to delivering 330 hot lunches, 5 days a week. Over 80% of the volunteers are age 55 or older.
An extraordinary example of a TLC senior volunteer is Centennial resident of 43 years, Gerry Cummins. Gerry has served on the TLC Board of Directors for over 3 years and is serves as Board Secretary.
According to the Community Assessment Survey for Older Adults completed in 2010 by the National Research Center, older adults provide significant paid and unpaid contributions to their community. In Arapahoe County the calculated hours of volunteerism was estimated at $800 million during a 12-month period.
Gerry devotes approximately 20 hours per week to improving her community and serves on four other boards including The League of Women Voters, Neighborhood Civic Association and the Centennial Election Commission. She is also the president of Centennial Council of Neighborhoods (CenCON).
“The contribution seniors make in our community is vastly underestimated,” said Mayor Cathy Noon, founder of the Centennial Senior Commission. “For too long we have looked at seniors from a dependency model, if we could change our perceptions to see older Americans as valuable contributors we could better access an immense resource and better meet the needs of our citizenry.”
Funding for the TLC Meals on Wheels program comes from several sources including Whole Foods, Littleton Adventist Hospital, Arapahoe Aid to Agencies and the City of Centennial from the Federal Community Development Block Grant. Centennial has one of the fastest growing senior populations in the State.
TLC Meals on Wheels needs more volunteers as it continues to expand delivery routes. To get involved, call 303-798-7642 or visit www.TLCMealsOnWheels.org
Gail Ploen is a retired Cherry Creek School District Social Worker presently serving as commissioner on Centennial Senior Commission and Colorado Commission on Aging.