Meal on Wheels: Giving back to the community

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jenay Randolph
  • 6th Air Mobility Wing public affairs
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  The 6th Aerospace Medicine Squadron and the Top 3 from MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. participate in Meals on Wheels of Tampa on the third, fourth, and fifth Thursday of each month.
The partnership with MOW began in Jan. 2013 when Team MacDill adopted a route, which allows more of a commitment and a way to be consistently involved. MOW makes it really easy; the zones are mapped out for volunteers to quickly deliver meals to a centralized location. The route that they adopted has approximately 15 people assigned to it and can fluctuate from week to week.

"I think it's another opportunity for our community to know that we are here for them," said Staff Sgt. Lashonda Robinson, 6th AMDS NCO in charge of occupational health. "Although we are known for protecting and defending our country, we also have a duty to give back and serve the community with the simple things like lending a helping hand to those who can't leave their homes or those with no family to care for them. We become their family."

On March 18, 1975, MOW of Tampa began with a group of dedicated volunteers who cooked meals in the recreation hall of a local United Methodist Church and delivered the meals to people who were homebound. MOW of Tampa serve approximately 750 meals per day and operate from a 1.6 million dollar budget.

"MOW touches the lives of those who are often forgotten, to include the elderly, handicapped and/or homebound, and I've always been interested in volunteering with the program," expressed Robinson. "After talking to Senior Master Sgt. Rita Johnson, 6th AMDS flight chief, we thought it was a good idea to get our professional organizations and squadron involved."

For more information on volunteering for MOW please contact Staff Sgt. Lashonda Robinson or Senior Master Sgt. Rita Johnson at 828-9601.