Rotary Club honors Ellwood City Meals on Wheels

ELLWOOD CITY ‒ The Rotary Club of Ellwood City recently honored two volunteers with the Ellwood City Meals on Wheels program.

As part of celebrating its 100th anniversary, the club is honoring men and women who have exhibited the qualities that emphasize the Rotary motto of "Service Above Self."

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So, Rotary President Doug Slade presented citations to Terry Crespo and Sharon McClintick, volunteers at the Ellwood City Meals on Wheels, and a $550 donation to the program.

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Crespo, director of the program, and McClintick, secretary for the organization, are two of approximately 80 volunteers who make it possible for 35 clients in the Ellwood City area to get meals five days a week. Gina McKenna does the paperwork to get people signed up.

"Only the cook is paid. The rest are all dedicated volunteers," Crespo said last week.

Five days a week clients get a hot meal and a sack lunch, which is a sandwich, salad, fruit and dessert. They previously had problems dealing with individual milk containers, but now they give each client a quart of milk on Mondays.

Packers are the volunteers who get the meals ready for delivery. The packers come one day a week, and they can choose the day they want.

The meals are important, but delivering the meals to homes and making contact is how volunteers make sure the clients are all right.

Usually, it is two people delivering the meals, one driving and one delivering, but some drivers prefer to do it alone. Crespo said they have between four or six delivery volunteers a day, so a volunteer drives once every three weeks.

"We need volunteers, drivers, packers, and we need donations," she said.

For questions or information, you can call Crespo at 724-752-9413.

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The Ellwood City Hospital and then Ellwood City Medical Center cooked the meals for many years, and when the hospital closed in 2020, Crespo said they thought the program wouldn't be able to continue. But the Calvin Presbyterian Church stepped up and Meals on Wheels continues to serve the Ellwood City area.

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This article originally appeared on Ellwood City Ledger: Meals on Wheels volunteers honored by Rotary Club of Ellwood City