When the Illinois stay-at-home order sent us all into our homes, Rikki Reed got to work. She leaves the house about 9:20 am, and returns just after lunch, about 1:30 pm.
The mother of four has been volunteering to pack and deliver meals to Knox County school kids since March 17 – when the program began. She leaves her house each day to pack lunches and deliver them to pick-up sites around Galesburg and Knoxville.
Rikki is a first-time volunteer with the United Way of Knox County. She had taken a long hiatus from social media and just re-joined as a way to keep in touch with her in-laws who were travelling. While social surfing, she saw a post seeking volunteers to help with the meal program, just as the program began in mid-March.
The United Way food distribution program is a collaborative effort of the United Way, District #205, and the VNA. The United Way coordinates the food acquisition and volunteer schedules. District #205 publicizes the program to the families – all District #205 families are eligible, regardless of means. And the VNA offers the space to pack and store supplies. The program also packs up boxes of 10 shelf-stable meals for seniors that are delivered each Friday by members of the Galesburg Lions Club.
As of April 26 – slightly more than a month into the program – Reed had surpassed 80 hours of volunteer service. On a typical day, she goes to the VNA to help pack about 1,200 meals for schoolchildren and delivers them to pick-up sites. More volunteers at the pick-up sites hand out the meals to children. Her “regular” route includes Faith United Methodist Church, Woodland Bend, and Sandburg Village apartments.
Rikki decided that helping with packing and delivery was the best way she could be helpful. A stay-at-home mom, she has four children, aged 12 through 19, who all attended Galesburg schools. And she’s always been active at Gale School, having served nearly every office in the PTO. She’s also been active in her church’s youth activities at Bethel Baptist Church.
“I have a heart for the kids,” Reed explains. She understands the sense of isolation children feel during this unprecedented crisis. “One thing we can do is feed them and give them a smile,” she adds. She is particularly happy that so many United Way volunteers are regulars. This gives the children a chance to feel comfortable and familiar with their “lunch ladies,” just like they might at school.
“It’s fun to see them trying new foods,” Reed notes that many children had never tried things like hummus and guacamole before. “And Laun makes it fun for them,” Reed notes, referring to the United Way of Knox County’s Executive Director Laun Dunn. “She called it Mediterranean Monday and Taco Tuesday,” Reed added.
“People are amazing,” Reeds says. Yep, they sure are.
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