A Small, Good Thing
Sometimes the smallest actions make the biggest differences.
Up until four years ago, Chris Saucedo, a service technician at Black Hills Energy in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, had never served as a volunteer. But following a United Way presentation at the utility about Meals on Wheels, Saucedo’s supervisor asked the team if anyone would like to sign up to help, and something clicked: “I was like, ‘You know what? I can’t imagine going without. So, yeah, I’ll give it a shot.’”
Saucedo began dedicating an hour a week delivering meals to 15 people who are homebound, ill, or have a disability that makes it hard for them to shop or cook. Because the weekly routes vary, Saucedo estimates he delivers meals to 60 different people every month.
For some people, it’s just a plate of chicken with fixings. But for the homebound people receiving these meals, the visits from Meals on Wheels volunteers are often the only daily personal contact they receive. “Seeing people’s faces when you take their meals up to them is pretty awesome,” Saucedo said. “It is true—you give 10% and you’re getting 50% back. You don’t just drop off the meal and go. You sit and you chat with them and you get to know them and see how they’re doing.”
During the holidays, Meals on Wheels typically serves holiday-themed foods like turkey, and Saucedo adds to the festivities by making his deliveries in a Santa hat. It’s a small thing, but it’s important: “When you look back on your life, you think about the little things,” he said. “For example, one of the little things that I thought about this morning was my 3-year-old granddaughter and how, if we’re walking, she’ll reach for my hand.
“It’s the same thing with Meals on Wheels. It’s just those little, super-simple things. You go, you drop the meal off, and the customer genuinely looks at you in the eyes with their thank-yous and their appreciation for what you do.”