News Releases CentiMark CareersCentiMark Cares Company Organization Company History CentiMark Literature CentiMark Images
News Release: CentiMark: One of Top 50 Private Companies in Pittsburgh
CentiMark Golfs for Children's Charity Event:
Public Relations:
Kathy Slencak
P: 724-514-8572
F: 724-743-6010
http://www.thealmanac.net/ALM/Story/01-07-PT-Meals-on-Wheels-pixs
By Susan Schmeichel For The Almanac writer@thealmanac.net
Lisa Owens could not contain her excitement as she practically danced around from the kitchen to the walk-in cooler to the dry storage room at the new home of the Peters Township Meals on Wheels program."It's so nice isn't it beautiful?" she asked. "Isn't this fabulous?" Last weekend, program volunteers, with the help of Boy Scout Troop 4 of Upper St. Clair moved the 34-year-old program from its long-time home in rented space at St. David's Episcopal Church to its new home in the Peters Township Volunteer Fire Department at 245 East McMurray Road.
The fire department social hall has been renovated especially for the Meals on Wheels Program giving them their own home-base and much more space then their former location. The renovation was funded by CentiMark Corporation of Southpointe. CentiMark is a long-time benefactor of the Meals On Wheels program and also provides drivers for Friday meals delivery, explained Director Susan Ruether.
The 5,000-square-foot space will be used exclusively by the program, unlike the 1,800-square-foot space it formerly leased from the church.
The church kitchen, which was also used for church functions, "didn't have near the space," Owens said. In addition, the space was scattered throughout the church.
"We were all over the building," she said. "We did a lot of running around."
Meals On Wheels of Peters Township has a five-year lease with the fire department with an option for five more years.
The new space, build by general contractor Waller Corp. of Washington, under the direction of contractor, Gregory Kittridge, includes not only a new kitchen, but also a walk in cooler, freezer, paper storage room, administrative office, dry storage room as well as a lounge for the volunteers.
Volunteer Al Sopko of Peters Township said that when the program was based at the church there was often not enough space for donations he picks up weekly at the Washington City Mission.
"I'd come back (with donations of canned goods and other foods) and ask "Where are we going to put this?" Sopko said.
The new location has a place for everything and, Saturday, Owens was making sure that everything was being put in its place.
The scouts, under the direction of John Fick, not only hauled all the cookware, office equipment and bags, boxes and cans of food from the church to the fire hall, but also unpacked the items, even forming a "bucket brigade" to get the large cans onto proper shelves.
The move was Fick's Eagle Scout project and the 15-year-old Peters Township sophomore, planned the logistics ahead of time, gathered the volunteer scouts and parents, and oversaw the move which was accomplished over the weekend so that there would be no disruption in meal service.
Fick, the grandson of volunteer drivers, Don and Mary Ann O'Reilly, even arranged for new sheet metal signage, done by Page Signs and funded by FJS Printing to put in place at the new facility ,
"I think it worked smoothly," Fick said of the move.
The expansion plan is the result of research on the demographics of the area and the expectation that many more senior citizens are going to need food delivery in the next few years, explained Ruether.
Currently, the program delivers approximately 120 meals a week, but organization members estimate that in the next 5 to 10 years the program will be serving 300 meals a day, Ruether said.
Volunteers currently deliver hot, nutritious meals to those within a 15-mile radius of the center, who can not cook or shop for themselves. Those receiving meals live in Canonsburg, Lawrence, Hendersonville, Muse, Upper St. Clair, Bethel Park, Library and Eighty Four as well as to the clients of the Easter Seals Adult Day Care Program at Peters Creek Presbyterian Church
The meal includes not only a hot lunch, but also a cold supper as well as frozen meals for the weekend. Owens takes into account and cooks special meals for those with diabetic or digestive problems.
The cook is the only paid member of the team, and the program depends upon its volunteers to assemble and deliver the meals as well as on donations for continued funding, Ruether explained. She has a particularly hard time getting volunteers during the winter months when many of her volunteers, who are retirees, go south for the warmer climate, she added.
"We have so much fun, said Arlene Miller, a volunteer from North Strabane.
Miller, who helps assemble meals and drives a few days a week, said she not only enjoys the interaction with her fellow volunteers, but also with the meal recipients,
"Everyone has a different story to tell," she said "It's really rewarding."
Gene Egan, a volunteer from Peters Township, jokes that his wife pays the Meals On Wheels Program to work for them and stay out of the house and her hair.
"I love everything (about volunteering), said Egan, who is retired from USAirways.
"It gives me a sense of accomplishment doing something for others, He said.
Anyone wishing to volunteer, make a donation, or just learn more about the Meals on Wheels Program, should contact Susan Ruether at 724-969-1000 or stop by the office at 245 East McMurray Road.