Thursday, October 22, 2015

A Way To Show You Care

Yesterday I got an email from a member of a church group which said that a young pregnant woman in the parish was having some problems and had been put on bed rest. The author of the message indicated she'd set up a calendar through CareCalendar to coordinate meals and other help for the family.

An 'online care calendar' was new to me, but it sounded like a good idea.  Years ago, the system was different.  If someone needed help one person was in charge of coordinating things.  She assigned the days, let everyone know who was bringing what (to make sure there was a variety of dishes), and followed up with a reminder to make sure the meal was going to be delivered.  It was a lot of work for the organizer

When I logged in with the ID number and password. the calendar showed the days meals were needed and the days that had already been taken (along with what that person was bringing).  All of the needed information was there-the family's address, phone number, dietary preferences, and what time they'd like the food delivered.  I noticed that no one had volunteered for today or tomorrow, so I called to see what the family's plans were.  The woman said she had a casserole in reserve her husband was going to reheat.  I told her I was making a pot of chili for my own dinner tonight; would she like me to bring some to her?  She said she would.

Since my food wasn't being eaten tonight.I could drop it off on my schedule.  While the chili was cooking I microwaved apple wedges with lemon juice and cinnamon.  When everything was ready I scooped some chili into an empty yogurt container, poured the apples into a plastic to-go container, then set both in a bag.  The family didn't live too far away from my house, so it only took seven minutes to make the delivery.

Five years ago today: Shine On

9 comments:

  1. What a great modern solution to a hard old problem. And kudos to you meals on wheels cooks.

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  2. Good for you!

    I've just signed on to help with funeral meals at our church. We'll see how I do.

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    1. A while back I was on the funeral food list, but every time they called I couldn't do it. Finally removed myself.

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  3. This is inspiring. I didn't know churches still did this.

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    1. One of the groups I belong to actually has a pretty active 'prayers needed' website.

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