Abilene Meals on Wheels Volunteers Find Healing Through Giving | KTAB

ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – Two Meals on Wheels volunteers help each other heal after the loss of their husbands by donating.

The spirit of giving can be contagious and spread joy beyond the original intention. Debbie Daniel and Brenda Gerard deliver meals together every week for Meals on Wheels, but their friendship didn’t start with their volunteer work, Daniel explained.

“My husband passed away in 2018. I met Brenda and a number of other ladies who had lost their husbands and were looking for an opportunity to serve the Lord in any way they could. He led me to this sweet lady who helped me serve Meals on Wheels,” Daniel explained.

Brenda Gerard volunteered at the Abilene branch of Meals on Wheels for more than six years. When she first started, she was usually accompanied on the fundraising route by her husband, but when her husband passed away, this left a gap in her weekly deliveries. At that time she met Debbie Daniel in a support group for widowed women. Since introducing Debbie to volunteering, the pair have become known as a dream team in the Meals on Wheels delivery circle, and Gerard spoke about what makes their connection so strong.

“We try to make it fun. We laugh, and we laugh a lot. Keep it light, but we understand the seriousness of what we do. What we both have in common is that we feel like the Lord led us to this,” Gerard shared.

This year, Meals on Wheels saw some outreach help: HEB sponsored all clients’ meals for the day as part of the Feast of Sharing campaign, helping approximately 1,400 people in the community with Meals on Wheels alone “wheels” to feed. Meals on Wheels Abilene Executive Director Betty Bradley said donations and volunteers like Debbie and Brenda are at the top of their needs list.

“It’s been pretty challenging this year. They’re calling faster than we can get out and visit, certify and enroll them. So we go ahead and serve them and trust that the donations will come in to fund that,” Bradley said.

Whether intentional or not, meeting the needs of the Abilene community has helped Debbie and Brenda build a lasting friendship. They both said, “You just feel so blessed after being able to have someone, and I think it helped our relationship grow.” “No doubt.” “And just became very good friends.” “Very close friends.”