Noble Park’s Beryl and Ray Smith are dedicated volunteers to the City of Greater Dandenong’s Meals on Wheels service, with Beryl having served 20 years with the program. But she fears a hard-working middle-aged society could create a lull in the number of volunteers that keeps the service running. Picture: Meagan Rogers.
By Shaun Inguanzo
NOBLE Park’s Beryl Smith has volunteered more hours than most people have had hot dinners.
But the 76-year-old’s unprecedented commitment to Greater Dandenong’s Meals on Wheels program comes as the service enters a phase of desperate need for new volunteers.
Last month, Mrs Smith celebrated her 20th year with Meals on Wheels, a council-funded program that ensures the city’s frailest residents can enjoy a nutritious meal without having to leave home.
Mrs Smith this week told Star she had no ambition to end her service to the Noble Park community as long as she can continue to ‘put one leg after the other’ and deliver the meals.
“But we are desperate for more volunteers,” she said.
“The middle-aged group are all working nowadays and can’t volunteer.”
Mrs Smith said the commitment was just a few hours a week and involved delivering meals on a pre-determined round to regular clients.
“It’s only we volunteers keeping the meals going round,” she said.
Drivers are reimbursed for the fuel it takes to deliver the meals, Mrs Smith said.
Her first contact with the program was in 1986, not long after she retired from her job at a nursing home.
“I just enjoyed looking after people,” Mrs Smith said.
“I knew a lass who used to do Meals on Wheels and I thought I would give it a go.
“I thought I would only do it once or twice, but I really got into it.
“There were times when I thought I would give up but I just kept thinking I should keep it up.”
And the years rolled by, to Mrs Smith’s surprise.
“It doesn’t feel like 20 years,” she said.
“If I admitted that I would be saying I feel 20 years older, but I don’t feel that way at all.”
Mrs Smith works with her husband, Ray – who joined her 12 years ago on the run – to deliver meals around Noble Park.
“My husband drives and now I am the jockey,” she said.
The pair work flawlessly together delivering meals to Noble Park’s needy residents.
But the dedicated Mrs Smith said she was always in charge.
“It runs smoothly until Ray tries to tell me what to do,” she said with a laugh.
Mrs Smith said she had never seen the meals because they were wrapped tight.
But it’s not the food she volunteers for – it’s the people.
“There are people you look forward to seeing because you’ve delivered them meals for two or three years,” she said.
“You feel like you’ve lost a friend when they are not on the round any more.”
Greater Dandenong mayor Peter Brown said Mrs Smith was a model citizen and the council would invite her to next Monday’s council meeting and dinner as a guest of honour.
