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Show jljjnteers needed for county Is on Wheels program i r,n "Meals on Wheels" is ii ;r. Jghout our country from )0 jhore and from border to gj describe an amazing that began to gain a iim in the sixties, .j .'s it is used as an official ' p'netimes as a nickname. ."s the program is run by a I l t organization and !r5 by a governmental 15 $ut always it is run to n invaluable service to a af our population that is IWAs neglected, at least 1 3D because they are out of se are the thousands upon ; of elderly who, through their own, are confined to 3 fjries. For one reason, or f 'iany reasons, they can't , i-et places, they can't cpok . J,e meals, and they can't ."of their needs. our senior citizens who .rnselves in this situation jl is the most important " ..eping them from having to utionalized. Putting our "In various types of in- j is a tremendous emotional iy ',icial drain on themselves, f lilies and the community as Jand should be avoided as mm possible, The meals on rogram is a giant step in this from happening in ur Utah homess. ah Valley, "Meals on is a pseudonym for the divered meals program of .land Area Agency on I If 'his program delivers over yit meals a year to those who this need category. There delivery routes that cover Elley every week day. The I f-e professionally prepared r tritious and plaeasing and shed over by a full-time 51. They are delivered in " lipped with ovens to keep Ujees hot and ice chests to Pi milk and salads cold. The H ft Wheels program is not for all senior citizens, however. Those who are able, or who have help available, are encouraged . to prepare and eat nutritious meals with adequate calories at home. Or, if possible, they can attend the lunches at their community's Senior Citizens Center. There are ten of them in Utah Valley, and the meals served are the same as the ones delivered to the homebound. Now for the subject referred to in the title of this article, "Volunteers needed." Because of forseeable budget cuts in the near future (Gramm, Rudman, Hollings Act and others), and the growing need for more people to be served by this and other aging programs, we are turning more , and more to volun-. teerism. In some areas of this , country, the Meals on Wheels , programs are almost entirely carried out by volunteers. In Utah County we have put into motion a plan using volunteers to deliver sections of our Meals on Wheels routes, where each volunteer, volun-teer, or team of volunteers, will deliver about 15 meals, perhaps two or three times a week (about IV2 hours a day.) The 15 deliveries would be fairly close to each other in a given community. It provides a great opportunity to serve neighbors neigh-bors in need. Those who are doing it say it is very rewarding, a pleasant experience, and even fun. The job can be done by male or female volunteers, seniors or non-seniors. Volunteers just have to be able to hop in and out of a car a number of . times to make the deliveries. We need volunteers from each of our Utah Valley communities. Interested' people are encouraged en-couraged to call and have their questions answered, then volunteer to help. They may call Moun-tainland Moun-tainland Area Agency on Aging at 377-2262 and ask for Don Young, or come by the office at 160 East Center Street, PrOvo UT 84601. A satisfying experience is guaranteed. |