Roanoke’s Let’s Do Lunch—A Roaring Success with the Help of AARP Volunteers

By Joyce E. Williams , June 26, 2019 04:38 PM

What does an eighty-two-year-old lady, suffering the aftermath of a stroke, triple bypass heart surgery, and a husband who is seriously ill, who has glaucoma and cannot drive, do to survive?

Referred to Roanoke’s Local Office on Aging, she and her husband were found to be eligible for the LOA’s Meals on Wheels program. That was four years ago. Her husband has since passed, but she continues to need help. She is one of 844 seniors who was served in the past year and can live healthier and safer in their homes with visits from volunteers who provide a friendly face and well-being checks. In the past year, the LOA served 124,000 meals.

The LOA’s annual fundraiser to help raise money for its Meals on Wheels program “Let’s Do Lunch” extravaganza is held each June on the second Friday. Tickets for the gourmet box lunches were $15.00, which bought not only the lunch but will pay for two Meals on Wheels. This year the box folding for the lunches began on Wednesday, June 12. Plating the lunches was on Thursday, June 13, with lunches served and distributed on Friday, June 14 at the North Roanoke Baptist Church.

All along the way, AARP volunteers provided a major source of help to the project. Volunteers from the Roanoke Area AARP Leadership Team, SW Roanoke Chapter #4652, and the Eureka Chapter #0514 folded boxes, plated lunches, served and delivered lunches, directed traffic, and parked cars. Over 3200 tickets were sold funding 6500 Meals on Wheels for the coming year. Other aspects of the event, the raffling of scores of prizes including gift cards, meals out, spa services, mini vacations, and a P. Buckley Moss print, as well as the 50/50 drawing have not terminated, so the funds raised from those opportunities are yet to be determined.

Lunches were delivered off-site to those who couldn’t get to the church. For those who did, they were treated to the entertainment of Jane Powell, a local celebrity who has performed across the US and in Canada and who is known for her soulful sound and a five-octave range.

Thank you to the Roanoke and surrounding communities for the support of the program and thanks too, to ALL the many AARP volunteers who help make the event possible.