Thank you so much for your interest in volunteering for Meals on Wheels West and for your compassion in helping the vulnerable populations we serve during these trying times. We are in need of volunteers more than ever, but we have shifted our deliveries to 4 days a week in order to minimize potential transmission of COVID.
We deliver More Than a Meal on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Pickup time from our office in Santa Monica is between 10:45 am – 11:45 am depending on the route. We deliver to Santa Monica, Venice, Marina Del Rey, Pacific Palisades and Malibu. There is Hidden Hunger in even the most affluent communities. Delivery time can take approximately 1 – 2 hours and each route has an average of 8-10 clients.
There are a few different volunteer opportunities depending on what works best with your schedule. Below are the different opportunities available:
Delivery Volunteer
Adopt a Route Delivery Volunteer:
An Adopt a Route Volunteer adopts a route consistently one day a week (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday). Once signed up, you will be scheduled for every “Monday” (for example). Volunteers and clients love this because you would get to deliver to the same clients each week and getting to know each other (even at a safe 6-8 ft distance at drop off) is very rewarding.
Adopt a Day Delivery Volunteer:
An Adopt a Day Volunteer adopts a route one day a week (but not a specific route). The day chosen will be the same each week (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday). You will be assigned whichever route opens up that day – and can specify if you have a preference for which area (Santa Monica, Venice, etc.). Volunteers love this because of the variety and getting to see different members of the community.
Substitute Meal Delivery Volunteer:
A Substitute Volunteer signs up to fill in whatever route is in need on a particular delivery day that the volunteer is available. There is no weekly commitment, and they can sign up for as many or as few days as possible. This works best for those whose schedules vary and would like to option to fill in whenever they have time made available.
Mini Route Delivery Volunteer:
Our new Mini Routes are shorter than our typical routes, with an average of 7 clients. These new routes are located in Santa Monica. This is a great opportunity for volunteers who are maybe short on time but still want to serve your community! You will work directly with Meals on Wheels West to deliver meals to our homebound neighbors in need. The meals that you will deliver consist of hot lunches, sandwiches, milk, juice, fruit, and frozen meals (on select days).
Operations Volunteer
An Operations Volunteer helps with the packing of meals to delivery bags, unloads frozen meals and placing them into freezers, helps delivery volunteers with carrying delivery bags and placing them in their car, and helps with the clean up and sanitizing of delivery bags. Operations Volunteers help out at our office in Santa Monica.
For any questions regarding Meal Delivery or Operations volunteering contact Jen, the Meal Delivery Volunteer Coordinator at (310)394-5133 x2 or jen@mealsonwheelswest.org
Community Connections Phone Reassurance Volunteer
Call 2-4 homebound community members on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays. The calls are done remotely, and volunteers are provided a script, guidelines and a resource list to utilize for the calls. Calls typically take 30 mins-1hour. Farsi and Spanish speaking volunteers are especially needed. To sign up or for more information, contact Margaret at margaret@mealsonwheelswest.org or (310)394-5133×3.
To start the volunteering process there are 2 simple steps:
- To complete mandatory background check, contact Margaret@mealsonwheelswest.org; or (310)394-5133×3
- All community connections phone reassurance material will be sent via email once you sign up
Volunteers are key to keeping our community nourished so to show our appreciation we have:
- Same day text-reminders of volunteer shifts
- Meals on Wheels Scheduler, our online program for delivery volunteers
- Mon Ami online program for Community Connections Phone Reassurance volunteers
- Monster Bash Halloween Party
- Tracking of all volunteer hours available