Eileen Hafften’s  Letter to the Northeaster Newspaper

Thanks to Meals on Wheels Community and Volunteer Drivers

I would like to express enormous congratulations to the volunteers and donors in the communities of Northeast Minneapolis and St Anthony Village for 35 years of support of Northeast Dinner Bell, Inc. Meals on Wheels Program.  Clearly this is a commitment and an accomplishment to be proud of.  Meals on Wheels is a vital community service and we depend on your community support more than ever to continue our service.

As I celebrate my eight year anniversary as the executive director of Northeast Dinner Bell Meals on Wheels Program, I would like to say thank you to our kind and giving volunteer drivers for their continued support.  Their generous volunteerism is the backbone of our entire program.  I appreciate the time they give to us and I know the difference they make in the lives of most of our elderly, homebound neighbors.  Our delivery may be the only human contact the homebound have on that particular day.

Some of our volunteers represent sponsoring churches, businesses or civic groups; others volunteer on their own.  Northeast Dinner Bell, Inc. could not have survived over the years without their sincere volunteer dedication and financial donations.

Driving on a weekly or monthly basis may not seem like much to our volunteers, but to us their help is priceless.  With 12 routes per day we need 60 drivers per week.  This adds up to more than 240 route drivers per month and 2,880 route drivers each year.  Those driver slots are filled, one by one, by kind and giving community volunteers.  They are more valuable to us than they may realize.  If you see them or if you know some of our drivers, please let them know how much you appreciate their help in making Northeast Minneapolis a better place to live.

Thank you volunteers and donors for a great thirty five years of Meals on Wheels support.  Your dedication to Meals on Wheels and my association with each of you has made my eight years with Meals on Wheels very rewarding.

Most sincerely,

Eileen Hafften

Executive Director

Northeast Dinner Bell, Inc.

Meals on Wheels Program