Hello and welcome to living in the Lehigh Valley.

We're beginning a new season and as always, our focus is your health and wellness.

I'm your host, Brittany Sweeney.

Most of us understand and try to live up to the age old maxim that it is better to give than to receive.

Volunteers who give without expecting anything in return exemplify these words of wisdom.

They do it to help others.

And although they don't get paid or compensated, they do get a positive feeling, which many reports is the best reward of all.

According to an article in Psychology Today, giving can improve self-esteem and a sense of well-being.

Our own Grover Silcox joins us today with the story of a Lehigh Valley woman who received an Unsung Hero award for serving as a volunteer for Meals on Wheels of the Greater Lehigh Valley.

Grover, as always, great to see you back for another season.

Good to be here.

Yes, Bret.

Yeah.

Earlier this year, the Lehigh County Office of Aging and Adult Services presented 19 residents of the Lehigh Valley with Unsung Hero Awards for their volunteering.

And one of those people was 73 year old Bonnie Citrix of Cat Issaquah.

Now, Bonnie has for the last six years, volunteered with Meals on Wheels of Greater Lehigh Valley.

And in that time, she has delivered thousands of meals and served nearly 10,000 meals to her recipient.

Wow.

That's a lot of food and a lot of meals.

And she does this all unpaid.

She does it out of the goodness of her heart.

She gets a great deal out of just giving just a helping of people.

Wonderful.

She sounds like a really extraordinary woman.

Extraordinarily generous, which is why her fellow volunteers and the Meals on Wheels staff recommended her for the Unsung Hero Award.

I can see she's really an inspiration to all of us.

She really is.

You know, in speaking with Bonnie, I immediately sense the joy that she gets from serving others.

But he also enjoys helping Meals on Wheels in other ways, serving in the kitchen, manning the front desk and doing whatever the organization needs to serve the community.

But she especially loves delivering the meals, engaging the recipients, and seeing their eyes light up when she arrives at their door.

Her altruism seems to know no bounds, and she does it all for the joy of helping others.

Every morning, Monday through Friday, Meals on Wheels, volunteers pick up their packs of food and load them into their vehicles.

They upload enough.

We are they check their routes and off they go, delivering meals to grateful recipients throughout the Lehigh Valley.

73 year old Bonnie Xypex of Issaquah loves volunteering for Meals on Wheels.

Here we go, Bill.

He's always waiting for me.

Johnny on the spot.

I'm a volunteer.

I'm a volunteer.

A floater.

Wherever they need help, I help them out.

But I am a driver.

I've been doing these routes for about four or five years already.

Have a wonderful day.

Thank you.

Thank you.

You are not just a volunteer.

There is no such thing as just so.

But I'm a volunteer.

Bonnie recently received an Unsung Hero award from the Lehigh County Office of Aging and Adult Services.

She was one of 19 older adults honored with the award for generously giving of their time and talents to enhance the lives of others in the community.

Volunteer Bonnie Civics, who is just amazing.

She really goes above and beyond.

She forms a strong relationship and connection with the people that she delivers to.

They trust her.

They respect her.

They're willing to confide in her.

Sometimes things that they do not share with their family members that they should be sharing.

So she's really able to provide a good set of eyes and ears for us here at the meals on Wheels office.

Meals on Wheels volunteers deliver two meals for each recipient.

Clients can receive both a hot meal and a cold meal.

They're delivered at the same time.

Hot meals are delivered hot and ready to eat cold meals.

We're assuming they're going to be saving for their evening meal, but the hot meals are repeatable.

If they choose to do the opposite, it's good to see up and around.

Carol.

Okay.

Have a great day.

Bonnie exemplifies Meals on Wheels motto, quote or than a meal, unquote, because she cares about the people on her route.

They look forward to her visits not only for the meals but for the company as well.

Bill in Charlotte, They're always waiting for me at the door.

And Bill is partially impaired, so he's always very careful receiving the meal.

But he says, We appreciate you people.

Every time I come in or you are good.

And I said, You know what, Bill, it's a pleasure serving you.

And I will tell the kitchen how much you enjoy it.

And everything is labeled with their names and their route number to make sure we have the right one.

And we have unzipped the thermal bag and that's where the hot meals we do keep them plugged in so that they stay hot and everything's in order.

The kitchen always has them in order of delivery.

Kitchen staff and volunteers at Meals on Wheels, Sherman Street headquarters prepare nutritious meals using fresh fruits and vegetables and other wholesome ingredients for more than 2000 seniors and adults with disabilities throughout the Lehigh Valley.

All of our meals are heart healthy, cardiac friendly, diabetic friendly.

But we also have renal options, soft options, pureed, and different restrictions that clients can put in place.

Now, here's an example of an exception.

If someone cannot have beef, which they cannot or pasta, they get something else.

So she will be having fish sticks instead.

And rice.

Okay.

The kitchen is always on board with that.

Joyce, the lady who was sitting outside, she just looks forward to seeing me every week.

We always chat.

We have a mutual friend.

My neighbor is her good friend.

So we keep each other on board.

And she's always a joy to see.

Meals on Wheels of the Greater Lehigh Valley has a network of 89 routes.

Some have as many as 18 to 20 deliveries on them in the high rise.

Little Catherine.

She's the one who usually lets me in the building when I call her.

Meals on Wheels for Catherine.

And I heard her say through the door, I think this is my meal.

And here's your juice and your fruit cup.

Thank you, ladies.

Have a good day.

Meals on wheels for rows and rows usually is the one by the elevator.

She.

She's gotten to be very gracious to.

Oh, really nice people.

Most of them look forward to seeing you and they love the meal.

They do.

Bonnie started with us in 2018.

It's hard to believe that seems relatively recent, given all that she's done while she's been with us.

She's logged over 6000 miles and has delivered almost 10,000 meals, which is just remarkable.

Coming in to see my friend Kathleen, Bonnie makes her last delivery at Kathleen's home.

Kathleen is an absolute peach, but she looks for you.

She really does.

And we'll chat about her grandkids or about the weather, about the swimming Hungarian recipes.

And I bring her samplings of things that I beg.

She loves it.

The kids where they don't fold their stuff.

And you know, me, my grandkids, they were here yesterday.

Swim.

Bonnie is grateful for her Unsung Hero award.

But like so many unsung heroes, she really plays down the heroics and rather shares the true rewards and why she's delivering far more than a meal.

Definitely more than a meal.

The meal is a big part of the visit, but you share part of your day.

You share part of your time.

They look for you.

They really do.

But it's just it's so gratifying.

It's a win win, win win situation really is.

According to an article in Current Directions in Psychological Science, researchers suggest that individuals reap the most rewards for selfless volunteering when they're not pressured to do it.

And when they see that their efforts do indeed improve the lives of the people they've helped.

Bonnie picks Our unsung Hero.

Definitely fits that Bill Grover.

Bonnie really seems to enjoy the people that she serves.

It's almost like they become her friends.

They do become her friends.

In fact, one time she got to a recipient home just in the nick of time to help them get urgent medical care.

Really just she really is just an unsung hero.

She really is.

But she'd be the first to say that all the folks at Meals on Wheels are heroes.

Sure.

Just the kind of generosity we'd expect from someone like Bonnie.

Exactly.

All right.

Grover Wall, as always, thank you so much for joining us.

And that'll do it for this edition of Living in the Lehigh Valley.

I'm Brittany Sweeney, hoping you stay happy and healthy.