To-go meals are prepared to be delivered to senior citizens in the community at Once Upon A Thyme Thursday afternoon in Chehalis.
The Visiting Nurses Foundation’s mission is to be of service to the home health and hospice patients of Lewis County, and with the coronavirus pandemic effectively cutting off the very segment of the community they serve with the world, the organization felt it needed to step up to the plate.
To fulfill the organization’s obligation, Visiting Nurses Foundation has temporarily transitioned its funds to meal delivery service and has been serving about 90 meals a day to the doorsteps of mostly senior citizens who cannot leave their homes.
“We transitioned because we knew quickly that we would be closing our thrift stores and we needed to be able to fulfill our mission. And the way to fulfill our mission at this point is to make sure that these people are getting nutritious, high-calorie meals so they don’t have to leave their house,” Executive Director Jennifer Collins said.
Collins added: “Many of them shop (at our thrift stores) and have supported Visiting Nurses. … They’ve supported us in a million ways and we’re ready to help them too.”
The organization announced Wednesday that they would also begin delivering medical supplies.
For residents in Centralia and Chehalis, one meal is being delivered to each recipient once a day. For outlying areas in Lewis County, they are delivering two meals every other day.
Visiting Nurses’ meal delivery service isn’t the only one trying to help seniors in Lewis County. Visiting Nurses walks the food up to the recipients’ doorsteps.
“A lot of times you have people who literally cannot step outside their door because they are in a wheelchair or walker and they aren’t able to get down stairs or up stairs,” Collins said.
As of Tuesday, Visiting Nurses Foundation has funds to keep the meal delivery service in operation for two weeks, at which point they might need to reassess the situation, Collins said. But Collins believes more private donations are on the way and will help keep the service afloat.
“Some of the people we are delivering to on their own have sent donations in,” Collins said. “It’s not that they can’t (afford the meals), sometimes it’s just a matter of they can’t leave their home and they have no family or friends living in the area.”
The organization doesn’t receive any subsidies and all of their services are funded by revenue from the thrift stores, fundraising and private donations.
Dusty Ross, a real estate agent for RE/MAX Key Land Company in Centralia, volunteers her time that has been opened up because of the coronavirus and is on the front line of Visiting Nurses’ meal delivery efforts.
She said she got involved with the meal delivery program because Collins had reached out and she figured it was the least she could do.
Similar to Ross, Jennifer Krueger, a part-time volunteer coordinator for the Centralia Police Department, heard Collins’ rallying cry via Facebook and decided to get involved.
Krueger said a “fearless leader” was an accurate characterization of Collins and the work she does managing Visiting Nurses.
“She is just so involved in the community and deeply cares about people. Whenever she has a project or something in mind I know it is going to be awesome,” Krueger said.
If you are in need of Visiting Nurses’ services, would like to volunteer or want to make a donation, call 360-623-1560
