Thank You to All Our Volunteers!

Do you know that April is National Volunteer Month?  Every day, we hear about heroes on the front lines - health care professionals, those working in grocery stores, food banks and those providing other essential services, our firefighters, police officers, and EMTs - all of whom are working tirelessly to serve others.
Meals-on-Wheels of New Rochelle’s volunteers also are true heroes. They show up every day
to pick up and deliver hot and cold meals to the elderly homebound in our New Rochelle community. 
Our volunteers have told us, “our experiences are life changing” and “we get more than we give.” Our clients say: “our volunteers are angels.”  Meals-on-Wheels of New Rochelle would not exist without our volunteers.
Now, more than ever, we need your help, too. Please donate in honor of our very own heroes - our volunteers.
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Also, please consider joining our new MOWNR Monthly Friendship Circle.
See our Donate page.

Thank you for your continued support!

Conversations with Our Clients...

Mr. Michael Libretta

I called Mr. Michael Libretta on a chilly, rainy Sunday afternoon. He asked if I could hold on while he turned down his Doo-Wop station and that's how our conversation began, about music, he likes to listen to Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.

Mr. Libretta said he can not believe what is going on with COVID-19, he has never experienced anything like this in his entire life. He wonders if "maybe God is mad at us and wants us to shape up." He talks more on the phone now with his brother than he ever has in his life. They talk about things they have lived through Korea, Vietnam but never anything that has affected the entire world like COVID-19 has. He feels in some ways it is bringing people together "everybody is helping everyone else, getting closer." 

He doesn't know what he would do without Meals-on-Wheels, he misses the visit with the volunteers each day but is very thankful for the delivered meal. He mentioned a particular meal last week chicken with pasta and broccoli "delicious, cleaned my dish, I used bread to wipe my plate, it was just like I used to make." He also added he has never eaten as many vegetables as he has with MOW "I am going to live longer."

He was wondering how the mailmen are doing he hasn't heard anything about them on the news, he hopes they are staying in good health, he mentioned he used to be a mailman. 

Mr. Libretta grew up in Brooklyn wondering what it would be like in the year 2000. When he was a kid he hoped he would grow up and make $100 a week, he thought he would be on easy street. He still loves the music that reminds him of those times and as teenagers going to the dances and getting a girls phone number.

He has children he is very proud of and often thinks "I must have done something very good in my life to have such wonderful children." He misses spending time with his grandchildren and hopes they’ll be able to visit when it is safe.  Due to vision problems it is harder for him to read, play solitaire and watch TV. We had a lovely conversation, he said "I want to keep you on the phone, it's nice to have someone to talk to."

MOWNR Volunteer and Board Member Maureen Pallotta

Michael Libretta (L) on his 80th Birthday with his younger brother Joe (R) 78 who lives in Queens.

Conversations with Our Clients...

Mrs. Innocenza Acocella

When I called Mrs. Innocenza Acocella she said she had just been on the phone with a cousin from Florida who called to wish her happy birthday, she turned 90 yesterday. She said “she is never going to forget this birthday.” 

I asked her if in 90 years she has ever experienced anything like COVID-19, she said never, the only thing that would come close was 911. She said her mother was 8 years old during the 1918 Pandemic Influenza. Mrs. Acocella feels that if they made it through that with no technology, we can make it through this, and that is what she is telling people. 

She said the depression was hard, her family lived with her Grandfather who had a steady job, her father was a laborer who had difficulty finding steady work. Her family was very close and she felt very lucky because she had her own Shirley Temple doll. She has wonderful memories of growing up in a big extended Italian family with a lot of love. She has lived on the block she is on now for 70 years.

Mrs. Acocella worked in the kitchen at New Rochelle HS well into her 80's. The only reason she stopped was after not feeling well they discovered she had cancer. She knows she must be very careful during COVID-19. She wipes everything that comes into the house down. She misses the kids at the high school, she said “they kept her young.” She treated them like her grandchildren and some of them called her “Grandma” which she encouraged. She said she would love to still be working there.

Now, with COVID-19, Mrs. Acocella misses seeing the volunteers from MOW, she feels "they must be hand picked they are all so nice.” Before the virus. One volunteer changed a light bulb for her. The volunteer’s visit each day was something she really looked forward to. She said she appreciates and depends on the meals, one favorite recently was vegetable lasagna "it was delicious." Sometimes she feels watching too much news pulls you down. She enjoys getting lost in the stories of two favorite soap operas "their stories let you escape for a while." She has also been talking on the phone more with her family and friends. 

MOWNR Volunteer and Board Member Maureen Pallotta

MOWNR Volunteer
Pat Houlihan with
Mrs. Acocella

Join Our Monthly Friendship Circle

Meals-on-Wheels of New Rochelle is proud to introduce our new MOWNR Monthly Friendship Circle, you can change a life. Your ongoing support will help ensure that our homebound elderly New Rochelle neighbors receive nutritious meals 365 days a year.  
You can join the MOWNR Monthly Friendship Circle when you contribute online. Choose an amount of $10, $20, $30 or more on the Donate Page; then select Recurring Donation then Process. The minimum for a recurring donation is $10 per month, you may suspend your donation at any time. 
For over 37 years, our dedicated team of volunteers have delivered not only meals, but warm greetings and friendly smiles. For many of our clients, our volunteers are often their ONLY daily interaction.