LAGUNA HILLS, Calif. – Deliveries are moving the world as the coronavirus pandemic has confined so many to their homes.

Cherie Unholz, the Director of the Florence Sylvester Memorial Center for Age Well Senior Services in Laguna Hills, is prepping to pack up food deliveries for many of those who are isolated in their homes because they are limited in what they can’t do physically. Unholz is taking all necessary precautions for this vulnerable demographic of South Orange County seniors.

“To observe the six foot distancing rule, we’re putting everything on a cart and sending it out one by one,” Unholz says.

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Age Well maintains the service contract in South OC for the national program Meals on Wheels. Unholz is one of about 60 staff members who, along with volunteers, are delivering food to seniors’ doorsteps.

The non-profit also provides non-emergency medical services to seniors and Steve Moyer, Age Well’s CEO, says he has seen a 30-percent increase in need for food delivery services among Age Well’s 10 centers.

The organization takes great pride in delivering 1,200 meals a day to about 650 seniors, but amid the pandemic more volunteers are needed to meet the increased demand.

“We have just seen our volume increase tremendously. People that we don’t know have been contacting our sites and saying, ‘We need help,’” says Moyer.

Unholz is delivering to Laguna Woods today, a senior community in Orange County for older adults ages 65 plus, who comprise over 15 percent of the county’s population. She is placing the food on a table or in this case the door handle making sure to disinfect and keep a safe distance along the way.

 

 

 

For her, the greatest satisfaction comes from helping these people do what many of them can’t.

“Not a lot of people get to go to work and feel like they’ve made a difference. And we get that blessing, get that opportunity here,” Unholz says.

Delivering for many who can’t leave home.