Agnes Coltman has been volunteering since before The Okanagan Meal Service was taken over by Interior Health less than a year ago but she has been helping feed seniors for more than nine years.

(ADAM PROSKIW / iNFOnews.ca)

KELOWNA - Interior Health’s Volunteer Services is looking for drivers to help with the May Bennett Meal Program, a meal delivery service that delivers hot meals to approximately 350 seniors throughout the Kelowna and West Kelowna area.

“What we’re looking for is an extra three or four drivers that would either take a day on or are available for on-call for when people go on vacation or take a day off,” says Volunteer Services Coordinator Brenda Sheppard. “We’re pretty flexible and can accommodate other work commitments.”

The program runs Monday through Friday and a transportation stipend is offered to help assist with gas/mileage costs.  Deliveries are made in Kelowna five days per week and in West Kelowna three days per week.

“If they’re having their meals delivered we know they are eating well,” says Sheppard. “It also a gives us eyes and ears in the community. If there’s something not right then it gets reported and we can follow up.”

Agnes Coltman has been volunteering her time since before The Okanagan Meal Service was taken over by Interior Health less than a year ago but she has been helping feed seniors for more than nine years.

 “Some of (the seniors) don’t get any visitors,” she says. “They don’t get out so I always try to take a little bit of time to talk and see how they’re doing.”

Coltman says that although it’s not always easy, she continues to do it because she enjoys it and feels that it makes a big difference in the lives of those she helps.

“It’s sometimes hard because you get fairly close to the people and then one of them may pass away,” she says. “But we’re the only ones some of them see and they really appreciate it. It’s rewarding that way.”

For more information about volunteering for the meal program, or other volunteer opportunities within Interior Health, contact Volunteer Services Community Coordinator Brenda Sheppard at 250-980-1558.  For more information about the meal program, visit www.okmeals.info.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infotelnews.ca, call (250) 718-0428 or tweet @AdamProskiw.

News from © iNFOnews, 2013