With 140 active routes across Greenville County, Meals on Wheels of Greenville (MOWGVL) requires 140 delivery volunteers per day to deliver daily nutrition and personal connection to ~1,500 homebound individuals.

One such delivery volunteer is Ed Irick, who has been a MOWGVL volunteer for 11 years. He and his wife Carol both deliver weekly. They've also enlisted organizations they are a part of — the Reedy River Rotary Club and Eastminster Presbyterian Church — to volunteer as groups, both in the MOWGVL lobby and out on delivery.

We asked Ed why someone should sign up to volunteer, his favorite part of interacting with clients along his delivery route, and more.

Q: What made you want to begin volunteering originally?

A: Just a sense of service and wanting to help our community. My wife and I are at that point in our lives where we have the time to give back more, and we want to be of service to others. We both also really like Meals on Wheels, and delivering has turned into this shared activity we truly enjoy doing together.

Q: Do you enjoy engaging with the clients you deliver to?

A: That has been the case from the very start. I have four or five clients on my current route who I really look forward to seeing. This one gentleman and I chat out on his front porch every time, easily turning into a five to 10-minute stay. There are also clients who are no longer on my route who I still remember and check in on from time to time.

Q: What would you say to someone who is thinking about volunteering with Meals on Wheels of Greenville?

A: I promise you will get more out of it than you put in. My wife and I have found that once you introduce people to Meals on Wheels, it becomes contagious; they immediately want to come back and be a part of it.

Interested in joining volunteers like Ed and helping Meals on Wheels of Greenville deliver #MoreThanMeals? Apply online to become a delivery volunteer.*