LCO rolls up to help Meals on Wheels

LCO, September 2021 – April 2022

In September, Lighthouse Center Oregon (LCO) volunteers decided to donate special gift bags to senior citizens served by Meals on Wheels in Roseburg, Oregon. A small team of LCO volunteers gathered at Lighthouse Center Bakery to assemble the special gift bags. Sixty-one bags were prepared, each containing one loaf of bread, two dessert bars, one tea towel, one snack bag of nuts and raisins, a sampler of four different tea bags, and a gift card.

When LCO volunteers delivered the gift bags to Meals on Wheels, Director Sally Willoughby remarked that their elderly clients don’t usually receive such beautifully packed quality gifts. Later, the director informed LCO that when she delivered the gift bags to the senior citizens, they were delighted and grateful to receive them.

Bouyed by the success of the project, LCO decided to organize another gift bag project with Meals on Wheels in November. This time LCO worked with volunteers in Portland, Oregon to assemble the gift bags. This was their first gift bag project with Meals on Wheels in Portland and also the group’s first gathering since COVID-19 restrictions began in 2020. Spirits were high, which helped offset the cold morning air.

The seven volunteers worked in peace and harmony as they filled the bags. Each bag had similiar contents to the gift bags prepared for Meals on Wheels in Roseburg, but the loaf of bread was swapped with one stocking hat, a pair of socks, one handmade card, and 2 handmade lavender sachets. All in all, the team of volunteers packed 20 gift bags.

Once the bags were prepared, the team drove them to the Meals on Wheels center in Portland. The reception was awesome. They were pleased to see the bags which they planned to give to the seniors who were most in need. The team left feeling uplifted from the time together in service to others.

In April 2022, LCO volunteers organized another gift bag collaboration with Meals on Wheels in Roseburg. The team wanted to shower a little joy and consideration to the seniors who were most in need.

LCO volunteers baked dessert bars and cookies for the gift bags that were also filled with various items handcrafted by the LCO volunteers living in the region. These items included soup cozies, shirt protectors for dining, walker caddies, scarves, hats, and lavender sachets. A team of sixteen LCO volunteers participated to prepare fifty gift bags which were then delivered to Meals on Wheels in Roseburg.

Once again, Sally Willoughby, Director at Meals on Wheels, Roseburg and her staff expressed appreciation for the special attention and care in preparing these gift bags for their clients. LCO hopes to organize more gift bags as an ongoing project from time to time.