Meals on Wheels volunteers brave the heat to deliver food, fans to those in need
DALLAS - Despite the heat, volunteers are still braving the elements to help people in need.
An Excessive Heat Warning is stifling North Texas.
The National Weather Service warns that the rising temperatures will remain dangerously hot through Thursday night.
The heat doesn't stop volunteers with the Visiting Nurse Association of Texas from delivering Meals on Wheels to North Texans who depend on them. But the volunteers do need to be careful.
"We do give water to everybody in the coolers, I carry extra water," said Chris Pena with the organization.
Volunteer Brad Smith, who’s about to head out on his early route, says he goes through several bottles of water on triple-digit days like Wednesday.
"In and out. The car gets warm. You're stopping. You just got to keep moving and drink water," he said.
The extreme heat can be especially dangerous for our most vulnerable residents.
That's why Chris Culak and his son brought 86-year-old Pearl Brown a portable box fan along with her meal Wednesday.
Brown has a window AC unit in her house. But on days like this, it’s no match for the heat. Brown says the free, portable fan is a blessing.
Culak says so far this summer, VNA has handed out approximately 160 fans to its clients. That's 60 more than this time last year.
"We're going to constantly check on our clients, making sure they have fans. If they need air conditioning assistance, we help them with that," he said. "We bring extra water. We're going a little more checking this year because it's been so hot lately."
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Brown says she appreciates the volunteers constantly checking in on her and her family.
"Thank you," she said.
Due to the high demand, the VNA is running low on fans. With several hot months ahead of us, they're looking for donations.
How to Help
Purchase a fan from VNA's Amazon Wish List. The fan will be sent directly to our Haggerty Kitchen and delivered to seniors in need.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/3GBNVME3ZHD2U/ref=cm_wl_huc_view? (http://vnaot.convio.net/site/R?i=BLTIjtI1yP_LhZQMVGpT0rNHPNUv_Rz2QkpS8qc3QSEULMT3TAIc1A)
Make an online donation toward the purchase of a fan.
http://vnaot.convio.net/site/Donation2?df_id=2323&2323.donation=form1&mfc_pref=T (http://vnaot.convio.net/site/R?i=BgaOlo1hoKoAEawP9K2j1m51VgJA4039hwXuMZYuOuN48aRIsEDiBg)
Drop off a fan anytime between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. every Friday in July. You can drop off fans at VNA Haggerty Kitchen located at 1440 W. Mockingbird Lane, Dallas, TX 75247.