Blog

Mandy Boom’s beloved mother-in-law, Louise, often encouraged Mandy to share what she called “the gift of joy.” When Louise died in September 2023, Mandy acted on those words by becoming a volunteer for Ypsilanti Meals on Wheels.  “I picked up where she left off,” said Mandy, whose mother-in-law was an active volunteer for Meals on ...

Congratulations to YMOW Occupational Therapist Bridget Daly, who recently earned the title of Certified Aging in Place Specialist (CAPS). Through three days of training with the National Association of Home Builders, Bridget gained knowledge about home modifications, design-build features, and products to help seniors live at home independently.  CAPS professionals like Bridget are trained to ...

Mondays are especially busy days for YMOW volunteers like Nancy Culotta. Along with the usual meals, staff and volunteers distribute donations of produce, bread, and other items to everyone on their routes.  It’s a lot more work, but Nancy sees every knock on a door, every bag of apples and every carton of eggs as ...

Every once in a while, we’re reminded of little bits of good that resulted from the largely negative event that was the pandemic of 2020. One of those bits comes from Carola Baker, half of the volunteer team that’s recognized as YMOW’s volunteer of the second quarter, 2024.  “We couldn’t do ride-alongs during COVID,” said ...

  Knowledge of a foreign language certainly isn’t required of YMOW volunteers. But that hasn’t stopped Rick Humesky from learning phrases in Spanish and Romanian as part of his role at YMOW.  When Rick learned that a client on his Monday route spoke Romanian, he took it upon himself to learn a few simple phrases ...

As YMOW embarks on our second half-century of service to our community, we do so with a new leader at the helm. Following an extensive search conducted by the Andrews Group, we are proud and excited to announce Barbara Niess-May as YMOW’s new President and CEO.  A proud supporter of the Ypsilanti community, Barbara comes ...

Every Monday morning, YMOW can count on a delivery of fresh fruits, vegetables and other treats from Food Gatherers. And not far behind is volunteer Sylvia Bethea, YMOW’s volunteer of the quarter.  Sylvia sorts the bulk delivery of produce into individual, manageable portions that are sent out with each client’s regular meals that same day.  ...

A fuzzy snuggle, a friendly purr and a slightly slobbery kiss are all perks of having a pet. All of these small pleasures can add up to some big benefits, especially for YMOW clients and other seniors living alone.  Pets relieve isolation The physical, mental and emotional effects of loneliness and isolation include a higher ...

As is the case for most recent retirees, Suzy and Cary Engleberg’s decision to end their work careers came with the gift of more time – a gift that they are eager to share with their community and with Ypsilanti Meals on Wheels.  Each Wednesday the couple arrives at YMOW to load up meals for ...