Delivery Volunteering | Meals on Wheels of Chesapeake

Do you want to bring meals and a caring spirit to neighbors in need?

Our delivery volunteers are a diverse mix of individuals and groups, and in our humble opinion, the best and kindest people ever. They come to us through a mix of faith and secular groups, or as individuals who call the office asking “How can I help?”

Many of our volunteers are retired from various careers – military, medical professionals, or educators. Some work flexible hours and volunteer as their schedules allow. Some are college students and teachers that help in the summer or around the holidays. Some are parents who volunteer with children, and spouses or friends who volunteer together.

If you are interested in volunteering with us as a delivery driver, please take the time to read our Volunteer FAQ’s.

Our requirements for delivery volunteering include:

Volunteer Application

%

of participants would see no one for a week or more if not for their volunteers.
%

of participants look forward to seeing their volunteer each day

Volunteer With Us

Please contact us with any questions and we’ll be happy to tell you more about our team!

Volunteer FAQ’s

What’s it like to volunteer at Meals on Wheels?

For starters, with our emphasis on community and supporting the well-being of older and disabled adults, volunteering with us is very rewarding! As a Meals on Wheels volunteer, you belong to a caring community, and every time you help us out, you make a positive difference. And it’s not just about the meals. As a volunteer, you perform a safety check with each meal delivery, and often provide the only regular social contact for many of our participants.

Also, we welcome groups and are family-friendly. Bring your kids! Bring your parents! Bring your spouse! Bring your furbaby! (Just transport the meals in your clean trunk for food safety if you bring Fido.) And if you (or your children) need a community service letter verifying your volunteer hours, just ask–we’ve got you covered.

As long as you are available between 10:45 am and 1 pm on the occasional weekday, we can and will accommodate your schedule. We have teachers that only help in the summer. We have retirees that help a couple days or more each week. Some volunteers are only available once a month or around the holidays. And that’s fine. We work with you to figure it out.

You can also request a dedicated route in your own neighborhood and/or on a certain weekday. As long as the requested route or day is available, we will accommodate you. We love it when volunteers settle on a route because participants get to know them and true connection happens.

How do I sign up?

Apply HERE.

How do I sign my group up?

We welcome groups! As coordinator for your group, it’s your responsibility to make sure each person in your group completes the application, signs all forms, and arrives to deliver meals on the scheduled day. Please contact us here to start coordinating dates or give us a call at 757-312-6458.

Where do I go and what time do I get there?

Arrive at Chesapeake Regional Medical Center at 10:45 am, and no earlier. The address is 736 Battlefield Blvd North, Chesapeake, VA 23320. Curbside pick-up is in Lot 2 off Buckley Ave, behind the Priority Toyota Cancer Center. It’s important to be punctual in order for food safety, and because participants are hungry and looking forward to their meals. (Don’t arrive too early! Meals aren’t ready until 10:45 am, and physicians use that lot.)

Do NOT block-in parked cars. Pull up alongside the sidewalk behind the Cancer Center and alongside the brick building. We can’t block in physicians, who are trying to get to and from appointments.

Our routes deliver to every zip code in Chesapeake. If there is a particular area of Chesapeake you prefer to deliver to, just ask. We will do our best to get you there.

What do I do if I am running late, there’s an emergency, or I need to reschedule?

We understand that life can get busy, and that volunteering can only happen as our other responsibilities allow. Please call us as soon as you know you can’t make it (the sooner, the better) or if you’re running late. We will understand!

We also have an obligation to get the meals out safely and quickly, for the health of our participants. No-show volunteers really slow down meal delivery. So please let us know when you can’t make it, for the sake of the people we serve. Our office number is 757-312-6458, and our office cell is 757-793-7225.

What do I do when I get to the pick up location?

Check the Daily Volunteer List on the small MOWC cart to see what number your route is.

Find your 2 numbered route bags:
-a smaller black bag containing hot meals. Any meals for special diets will be on top, with the client’s name and address. All other meals are not specials, and can go to any of the remaining clients on the route. Your route binder will be in the side pocket.
-a larger black bag containing cold meals & plastic grocery bags in the side pocket. Pay attention—each of these are labeled, so make sure each client gets the cold meal with their name on it.

Handle the delivery bags with care! They are expensive and need to last us for a few years. Never tilt the bags because they nearly always contain gravy, sauce, and other liquids. Also, we want those meals to arrive packaged as beautifully as they were when we sent them out. Truly, we eat with our eyes first.

If you have your own insulated food bags or coolers, you may transfer all meals to them upon initial pick-up so you don’t have to return to CRMC. Please keep them clean! Be sure to check the route folder for any hand-outs you need to bring with you. You can also take the route sheets from the folder, or take a picture of them.

What do I do after I pick up my route bags?

Using the route sheets in your route folder (and your Maps app if you’d like,) deliver the meals. Check for special directions or delivery instructions on the route sheet. Also, check the route folder for hand-outs. These could be menus, statements, surveys, flyers, etc. If there are papers to hand out, just give one to each participant as you deliver their meals.

Why are the routes different from the last time I helped out?

Routes change often, for several reasons. Sometimes participants are no longer with our program. Sometimes they are hospitalized. Sometimes the route is full and we have to move some participants to another route to avoid starting a waiting list. For these reasons, routes do change over time. If you are worried about a participant who is no longer on your route, ask us and we will let you know how they are doing. We will even try to move you over to that route, if you would like to continue to deliver to them.

I’m at the first house. Now what?

When you get to a participant’s home, gather the hot meal and cold meal for that participant (read the meal labels to make sure you have the right ones,) and place them together in a new grocery bag from the side pocket of the cold meal bag.

Knock/ring, following any special delivery instructions on the route sheet. (Please do not place meals on the ground. It’s unsanitary and participants can’t reach them. You can hand the meals directly to the participant or hang the meals on their door knob.)

With every pair of meals, you also deliver a safety check. So WAIT for the participant to answer. Once you SEE the participant or caregiver, and they bring the meals inside, THEN you can leave. Never leave meals hanging on the door, and never leave before making contact with the participant or a caregiver.

If the participant doesn’t answer, do I just leave? Or can I leave once I hang the meals on the door?

NO, never leave meals hanging on the door, and never leave before making contact with the participant or a caregiver. An important part of what we do is social connection and the daily safety check. If you don’t wait for the participant to get their meals, you can’t be sure that they have received them, and you can’t know if they are safe. (Many participants are at risk for falls.)

If a participant doesn’t answer the door, and you have given them some time to get to the door, please call the participant at the phone number(s) listed on the route sheet. If they don’t answer, call us at 757-312-6458. We will then call their emergency contacts. If we can’t get the participant to the door, we will instruct you on what to do next.

Am I allowed to visit with participants?

Yes! We ask that you only enter their homes if they invite you. When you are at their door, please use the opportunity to ask the participant about their day and make small talk. 40% of our participants see no one else besides their delivery volunteers for a week or more, so these short conversations make a world of difference for them. But please also be mindful of the time—if you have more stops on your route, limit your visit to five or ten minutes so that the rest of the meals get delivered on time. Or just come back and visit at the end of your route.

This participant just handed me something. What do I do with it?

Some participants pay for their meals. On the last business day of the month, statements are delivered along with the meals to some (not all) participants. Sometimes participants may give you a check or cash as payment. Sometimes they are returning surveys or other paperwork. Please return all payments or anything else received from participants to the hospital.

What do I do with the bags and route folder when I’m done delivering meals?

Please return them to our pick-up area at Chesapeake Regional. Look for the menu board for bag drop-off.

What else can I do to help?

Do you have a special story to share? Or helpful feedback about route directions or delivery procedures? Fill out our volunteer survey and drop it off with us at the end of your route or the next time you help us out.

Be patient with participants who are slow to come to the door and/or hard-of-hearing. Be your kind and smiling self, as you are the only person most participants see all day.

Be patient and courteous with other delivery volunteers and staff. At our small and mighty nonprofit, we do a lot with a little every day, and kindness makes all the difference.

We are often asked if volunteers can make cards or small gifts for participants. Yes! We will love you even more for it!

Want to educate yourself on the unique stressors and experiences that impact participants so you can better understand how to connect with and support them? Earn a trauma-informed care for seniors certificate here.

Sometimes our amazing volunteers, who already do so much, want to donate as well. You can either donate by directly purchasing meals for a participant, or give a donation for general operating support. We take cash or checks in the office, or you could donate fee-free on Facebook at facebook.com/mealsonwheelsofchesapeakeinc. You can also donate at the button below.

Donate

We also have an Amazon Wish List here for social programming needs, including birthday gifts, hospital visits, and pet food/supplies.

Wish List