March 9, 2020
“I look forward to it every week,” says volunteer Stuart Shapiro of his Wednesday Meals on Wheels route.
But long before Stuart ever delivered his first lunch, he was an MOWCTX donor. “My family has been very fortunate. We live in this community and we want to make it a better place and we do that by sharing some of our abundance,” he explains.
Stuart, who works in commercial real estate, decided to also donate his time to our cause a couple of years ago when he went into business for himself and his schedule became more flexible. Now his meal route is a weekly Wednesday tradition. Occasionally, he even takes his 7-year-old daughter Molly with him on his deliveries. “I’m trying to teach her it’s important to give back to our community,” he explains.
Giving back has also resulted in Stuart making friends with the people on his route. “I’ve learned about their lives and they’ve learned about mine,” he says before adding “these are my people.”
One of those people is 84-year-old Bernadine Washington who lives alone and looks forward to Stuart’s visits every Wednesday. All of her relatives live out of state and she relishes her time spent with him. “He’s always cheerful and he cheers me up. He’s the light of my day,” says Ms. Washington.
And Stuart feels the same way about seeing Ms. Washington and the other homebound older adults on his route. “It’s one of the highlights of my week. I love it,” he says.