Shine - Anglican Retirement Villages
Shine - Anglican Retirement Villages
Shine - Anglican Retirement Villages
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ParticiPation<br />
MEALS on WHEELS<br />
ARV RESidEnt,<br />
donALd RoBinSon ViLLAgE<br />
rolling, rolling, rolling …<br />
Ron Wackwitz estimates that<br />
he must have delivered literally<br />
tens of thousands of meals since<br />
he first volunteered with Meals<br />
on Wheels in 1988.<br />
Swords SARitA EngLAnd<br />
30 shine<br />
soMe 24 years later, ron, who lives<br />
at Donald robinson Village, has only<br />
recently cut back from volunteering three<br />
days a week, and now hits the road just<br />
once a week with his eskies full of meals.<br />
in the early days he said a three-course<br />
meal, supplied by the hospital, was<br />
just $1.05, but that the quality was not<br />
‘always the best’.<br />
“i think some people just bought the<br />
meal for the dog!” he laughs. today, he<br />
said, the meals are of a very high standard,<br />
and he often buys them for himself.<br />
ron has met some characters over the<br />
years, but recalls that one of the most<br />
memorable was a lady who lived ‘out in<br />
the backblocks’.<br />
“she lived in a house on top of a hill,<br />
and it was a 100 yard walk up to the<br />
house. she had a fuel stove in the kitchen<br />
and during the winter she would have<br />
a tree branch going in the front door<br />
to the lit fuel stove! one day i walked<br />
up the drive at the same time as her<br />
daughter. we knocked on the door, the<br />
woman came out and all she had on<br />
was a dressing gown wide-open and not<br />
It helps people to remain<br />
independent... people really<br />
appreciate it. Ron Wackwitz<br />
another stitch of clothing! the daughter<br />
was horrified,” ron laughed.<br />
of course not all of the people who<br />
receive Meals on wheels are eccentric<br />
or living on top of a hill. even so, they<br />
may be feeling isolated and the contact<br />
with kind volunteers is a real highlight,<br />
in addition to the value of eating a wellbalanced,<br />
carefully-prepared meal.<br />
Meals on wheels began in Britain<br />
during the second world war, and was<br />
established in australia in 1952. sixty<br />
years on, ron believes the demand for<br />
it will continue, particularly as the aged<br />
population steadily increases. “i think<br />
it is a very important service. it helps<br />
people to remain independent, and<br />
people really appreciate it.”<br />
Find out more<br />
For information on volunteering<br />
with Meals on Wheels, or to enquire<br />
about the service, consult<br />
www.nswmealsonwheels.org.au<br />
or call 02 8219 4200.
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