Dividing and Conquering Community Service

Retired couples looking for community service opportunities often opt to volunteer as a team. Frank and Delma Jackson, who recently celebrated 59 years of marriage, took a divide-and-conquer approach to volunteering. Frank was first to retire and sought out an opportunity that would give him direct contact with those he was serving. SourcePoint’s Meals on Wheels and medical transportation programs fit the bill. For Meals on Wheels, Frank delivers hot lunches in the countryside outside of Sunbury. This area’s need for home-delivered meals has expanded exponentially since the pandemic quelled, leading to the creation of new Meals on Wheels routes that are based in Sunbury. “I like helping other people who need help, meeting people, and finding out if they are okay. I always ask how they are doing, which can lead to a long conversation.” Especially in outlying areas where the drive between delivery stops can be 10 to 20 minutes, Frank says, “I might be the only person they see that day.”

Medical transportation is a volunteer service that involves transporting homebound seniors from their homes to crucial medical appointments in Delaware, Marion, or Franklin counties. Non-driving or limited-driving seniors can find it hard to access transportation. Even seniors with family in the area can be challenged with commandeering them for daytime rides. Knowing this, Frank finds his role very rewarding. “I’ve met interesting people and have really good conversations. One of my first transports was a vet who flew 19 missions as a boomer pilot for RAF. Another senior I transported went ashore in Normandy the day after D-Day.”

Another perk of medical transportation that Frank enjoys is the opportunity to pursue his favorite pastime while waiting at doctors’ offices: study. His wife, Delma, says, “Frank has been studying since I met him.” Frank brings along his tablet and streams online educational courses, taking the classroom with him wherever he goes. He likes to learn “anything and everything,” taking courses in Egypt, math, biology, law, and whatever else sounds interesting. He waits at the appointment location whether it be an hour-long doctor visit or a three-hour dialysis treatment, absorbed in learning while the time flies by.

When it was Delma’s turn to retire, she followed Frank to SourcePoint but choose the lesserknown assignment of delivering 18-pound cases of Ensure and Glucerna to seniors in Delaware County while Frank was out on his meal routes. Delivering Ensure and Glucerna to homebound seniors is a labor of love, and a service Delma continues to provide 14 years in. Like Frank, she specializes in remote rural routes, which can be logistically difficult. Delma often delivers four or more cumbersome 18-pound cases to individual clients on her route. With her small handcart, the 79-year-old balances her cases while navigating hills, steps, no sidewalks, dogs, mud, snow, rain, and so forth, driving 20-60 miles for each route. Cases are heavy for many seniors to lift and carry and can be difficult for arthritic hands to open. By delivering these cases right to the door—or the kitchen table—Delma continues to provide an essential service to homebound seniors. When needed, she brings the cases into the clients’ homes and cuts open the boxes for easy access. She is always happy to stop for a friendly chat along the way and looks forward to visiting repeat clients.

Delma says that as she has gotten older, she has reduced the size of her garden, let some of her land go to meadow instead of mowing, and doesn’t like the cold. But cutting back on serving her neighbors is not an option. At age 83, Frank still enjoys his rambling country meal route and doesn’t mind the challenges of navigating outlying properties, but does prefer dry weather conditions. He considers volunteering a payback for a good, lucky life. “I need to give back and these are great ways to give back.” After over 17 years of volunteering, Frank has paid in full but still shows no signs of slowing his service to his community. Between the two Jacksons, Frank and Delma spread their goodwill far and wide.

For information on Meals on Wheels, medical transportation, or other volunteer opportunities, please contact Jill Smith, volunteer recruiter, at jill.smith@MySourcePoint.org or 740-203-2368.