Meals on Wheels now have two new faces, Fiona Graham and Gillian Kinsela, to help ensure this vital service keeps on meeting the needs of the Parkes community. Fiona is the new service manager and Gillian has joined as an administration support to help Deborah Wren.
Fiona assured all families and clients that the service would continue as normal and made a call to any new volunteers to join this organisation that is at the heart of the community in Parkes and the villages of Peak Hill, Bogan Gate, Tullamore and Trundle. Fiona recently moved back from Gundagai and is looking forward to this new experience. “I love Parkes and the community. The role brings something different every day while we make a difference in people’s lives. Meals on Wheels represent helping hands, teamwork and looking out for each other.”
Volunteers do not only deliver a meal to clients, but also fulfil a monitoring role. They receive a lot of training to be able to recognise changes in clients. “This gives families peace of mind,” said Fiona. In Parkes an average of 45 meals are delivered per day. The meals are cooked at the RSL. About 25 clients in the villages have a wide selection of frozen meals to choose from, while Parkes clients also receive frozen meals for weekends.
According to Susan Terry, Network Support Consultant for the Western region based in Sydney, the Parkes service is very unique as it includes the villages too. She said the 160 volunteers in Parkes were doing an amazing job. “They are the back bone of the service.” Volunteers work in pairs and can choose how often they would like to work. Fiona welcomed everyone, whether a new client or volunteer, to visit the office at Neighborhood Central.
By Maggi Barnard