Current volunteer opportunities

COVID-19 Volunteers

As things slowly start to open back up and people begin to return to work, Meals on Wheels will experience a need for more volunteers. Some of our older volunteers may still need to refrain from volunteering and their return to delivering meals may be more gradual. Prior to this pandemic, many Meals on Wheels programs were in a critical shortage of volunteers and our Ottawa program was no different. At this time our recruitment efforts will focus on volunteer drivers only. This is a great opportunity for people who have time during the day to give back to the community.

Role:
Volunteer Drivers

Purpose:
Deliver nutritious meals and provide a caring contact to seniors and adults with disabilities in Ottawa.

Volunteer Criteria: 

• Have a valid driver’s license
• Have access to a vehicle with a minimum $1 million liability insurance
• Can deliver a route on their own OR with someone from their own household (must also go through volunteer training)
• Have or be willing to apply for a Police Record Check – Level 3 Vulnerable Sector Check (less than 12 months)
• Can commit to helping over a few months, at minimum
• Can follow all new health and safety meal delivery protocols put in place due to COVID-19

Thank you for supporting Meals on Wheels in this time of crisis and ensuring our essential service is able to continue. We look forward to connecting with you soon!

* NOTE: Meals on Wheels usually has multiple volunteer opportunities as listed below, however due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently only recruiting drivers (see above).  

Meals on Wheels volunteer opportunities include:

• Drivers for our Hot Meal and Frozen Meal programs
• Servers for our Hot Meal and Frozen Meal programs
• Depot Drivers and Depot Assistants to transport meals to our depot pickup location
• Bike Deliverers as part of our Meals on Two Wheels program.
• Office Volunteers

Drivers and Servers deliver meals in both our hot meal and frozen meal programs. Drivers use their own vehicles and are paired up with a volunteer Server. Servers do not need to have their own vehicle. Delivery of a route takes approximately 2 hours.  During this short time, volunteers see the direct impact their help makes in the clients’ lives.

Depot Drivers with larger vehicles (SUV, minivan or wagon) are also needed for the depot run for four routes out to the west part of our catchment area.

In Spring and Summer, cyclists use their own bikes and our customized Meals on Wheels trailer for meal deliveries.

We also have a need for bilingual volunteers to help in the office assisting on the phones and providing administrative support.  Bilingual delivery volunteers are also a great asset so that we can provide the best service to our French speaking clients.

Our Board of Directors, individuals helping on various committees and special projects, as well as those serving as Ambassadors in the community round out our diverse and dedicated team of volunteers.

Contact us to find out where your time and talents can be invested in our agency.