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Show Page 8 0 R E M TIMES Thursday, September 4, 2008 I7v i niTT yj J i eiif feet! SVD J 2) Caleb Warnock j AIL Y HFRALD "I'm up and going, but not going very fast." So says Gloria Kirkham of Lehi when asked by a volunteer volun-teer Meals on Wheels driver how she is doing. Once a day during the week, a volunteer arrives at the home of Dean and Gloria Kirkham in Lehi to deliver a hot meal and check up on the couple. On Aug. 27, that volunteer was Krin 1 lale, and her 4-year-old daughter, Klizabeth. Struggling to meet rising need and overcome higher gas prices, the program needs more volunteer drivers. Volunteers Volun-teers need to drive their own vehicles to deliver the meals, working one day a week for about an hour. Volunteers are needed all over the county but especially in Spanish Fork, Orem and American Fork. When asked by a reporter how old she is, Gloria Kirkham pauses to laugh. "I can't tell for sure," she says with a chuckle. "I was born in 1929." Meals on Wheels makes all the difference for her and her husband. "We've really appreciated it," she said. "My husband doesn't like to fix meals, and I don't. I can't be up that long fiddling around. I broke my hip. It's healed, but it hurts sometimes." As I lale and her daughter daugh-ter prepare to leave, Dean Kirkham hands them cucumbers cucum-bers from his garden as a thank-you gift. "It's sure nice to have someone some-one so cute to deliver meals," he said with a grin. A few blocks up the road, Shielah Hackford, 86, welcomes wel-comes Hale and her daughter with little packs of cookies that Hackford won at bingo. "I'm doing good," she says in response to Hale's inquiry. "I've just finished all my ironing." iron-ing." I lale stops for a couple of minutes at each of the six homes on her route to ask if they are cool enough in the summer heat, whether they need anything, and just to visit. A? VmS Ln 4 MX A-., V- . .1 I . s, . ' 7 . v VL, - ' Cr ) r I . ' JV.' ASHLEY FRANSCELLDaily Herald "Have a great day," says Erin Hale after delivering a meal to Shielah Hackford Aug. 27 in Lehi. Hale, of Cedar Hills, delivers meals as a volunteer for Meals on Wheels each week for the past three years. Hale said she saw a newspaper newspa-per article calling for Meals on Wheels volunteer drivers three and a half years ago. "I was looking for some sort of community service but I have four kids," she said. "How can I serve with four kids attached to my hip all the time? I saw this and thought this is something I can do." During the summer her four children go with her on her route, which takes about one hour a week. Other volunteers drive on the other days. "I did it partly for myself, partly for others and partly because I wanted my kids to learn to serve the community and to see another side of the community they don't usually see." She wanted her kids to know that "there are people who don't live that far from Family Pediatrics Cosmetic us who need and help and can benefit from what we have to offer," she said. There are now 50 volunteers volun-teers delivering meals in Utah County, each taking eight to 10 meals that are dropped off at senior centers and businesses, said Liz Merrell of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program at Mount ainland Association of Governments. "Transportation is the costliest cost-liest part of the meal," she XJf yj Dr. DaUf Gorton, DMD WISH said. "It costs about $80,000 per year for a new Meals-on-Wheels delivery route. This includes the cost of the truck, the driver wages, insurance, gas, etc. Asking volunteers in the community to help deliver meals will avoid huge tax increases in-creases while serving more seniors se-niors as our population ages." Meals on Wheels is a needs-based needs-based program for homebound seniors age 60 and over and their spouses who are too sick or frail to eat at a senior center, she said. The suggested sug-gested donation for each meal is $2.25 in Utah County, and $2.50 in Summit and Wasatch counties. Meals are prepared by the County JaiL Bread is baked fresh daily, fruits and vegetables are grown on location, loca-tion, and all meals meet federal nutritional guidelines. For information on volunteering volun-teering as a driver for Meals on Wheels, call 229-3821. Most Insurance accepted. Prtstnt this ad for FREE Teeth Whitening wtrii Rew patient exam, x-raft ami cleaning. Utah County's PREMIER local sports coverage www. herald eict r a xo m www.gordonfamthfdmtai.cont Amiirim PtiIbI Anociotion OlUIJ ft m EGSK10 Look what $10 a month can purchase... $250,000 1 0 year term life policy (Male - age 39, good health and non-smoker) : Benefit Contois Mon-Fri 10am-6pm Sat 9am-5pm 374-5520 268 W. 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