Helena Allen spends an hour and a half on Mondays and Fridays making her rounds. She checks on 12 of her neighbors, and they check on her. Helena delivers meals as a volunteer for United Way-funded Douglas Senior Services.
The meals delivered by volunteers to seniors five days a week help them remain independent. For 92-year-old Inez Berry, the meals make it possible for her to stay in her own house.
"When you get to be an old lady, you can't do like when you were a young lady," Ms. Berry said. She still keeps her own house, but it is getting more difficult for her to get around. Helena talks with Ms. Berry for a few minutes each visit. The simple act of Ms. Berry standing at her door to wave as Helena drives on to her next delivery is one of the small but important ways this program helps seniors retain the physical independence they desire so deeply.
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Helena and more than 220 other volunteers deliver 175 meals each day to homebound seniors. Helena volunteers because she likes to stay active and she loves the seniors she visits. Most of the volunteers are seniors themselves. Helena lives with her two daughters in Winston. A retired restaurant hostess who lived and worked in Las Vegas, Helena moved to Georgia three years ago to be closer to her children and grandchildren. Helping seniors is important to Helena, and so is being involved in her community.
When you do something for someone else,
you don't have time to feel sorry for yourself.
—Helena Allen
Supporting seniors and encouraging community involvement are just two of the ways United Way makes our community safer and stronger.
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