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| Island 'stars' bring lunch to the homebound |
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Dorothy Greaves couldn't be happier to see the Fire Department at her front door. Instead of carrying a firehose, however, Deputy Assistant Chief John Casey was carrying Ms. Greaves' lunch. Casey, the borough's top ranking firefighter, was one of 30 civic leaders, business owners and other well known citizens to take part in yesterday's Meals on Wheels Celebrity Day.
One of the 10 stops Casey, volunteer Marion O'Keeffe and Lori Beyar made was to Ms. Greaves' Caswell Avenue home in Willowbrook.
"You're a friend I'd like to have," she beamed. "But you don't want to see us too often," Casey replied. Casey has been the Fire Department's borough commander since September. His uniform was a familiar outfit at nearly every house where he stopped; it seemed as though either the resident's son, or their neighbor, or the kid down the block was a firefighter.
"The Staten Island community has supported the Fire Department overwhelmingly after 9/11," Casey said."Whatever we can do for the borough to repay them, we will." Meals on Wheels has been delivering food to the elderly of Staten Island for 32 years (yesterday's hot meal was a "very nice" fillet of pollock; the cold lunch was a ham sandwich) Celebrity Day is one of the organization's marquee events.
"These are good people, and when you have good people who choose to live by the golden rule, that's really what Meals on Wheels is about," said Christopher Rubano, who filled in as the event's chairperson. Mark Russo, the chairperson, was home because his wife, Debbie, gave birth to 8-pound, 5-ounce Christian James on Wednesday.
Starting with a breakfast in the Staaten, West Brighton, the "celebrities" received their assignments and were paired up with a volunteer. Meals on Wheels delivers to between 485 and 500 homes each day and is supported by a staff of seven drivers and 21 volunteers.
"I love this," said retired Assemblywoman Elizabeth Connelly, a regular at Celebrity Day, as she approached the door of Stella Vozeolas' New Dorp home. "I think this is wonderful to see the appreciation and know that you're doing something that they'll benefit from. "It helps them stay independent," she said. Ms. Vozeolas enjoys her independence. Ms. Vozeolas, who will turn 100 on Sept. 10, lives on her own, receiving little assistance aside from the two meals that are delivered to her each day. "I'm so happy that they have come," she said, as she led her guests up the two flights of stairs to her living room. "And the weather's been much better.”
As she put aside her lunch, Ms. Vozeolas showed Mrs. Connelly pictures of her son and her granddaughter, and recollected a few stories to share. “Thank God I've got my mind," Ms. Vozeolas said. "I never expected to be this old." "She's very sharp," said Frank Driscoll, a Meals on Wheels volunteer who regularly delivers food to Ms. Vozeolas. "She doesn't look her age." |
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