A celebration of Motueka’s Red Cross contributors was held in the Motueka Library last week, where a host of long-standing op shop staff and Meals on Wheels drivers were given certificates to acknowledge their dedicated service.
More than 35 people were acknowledged, some of whom have served more than 30 years for the charity.
Meals on Wheels driver Pru Todhunter says that the service enables older and less mobile people to stay in their own homes and keep their independence for longer, as well as providing a point of outside contact for them.
She has been volunteering with the Red Cross for 15 years, and she says that she started giving her time in part because her mother used to volunteer for the same service.
Motueka Red Cross fundraising shop president Jenny Dixon-Didier says that the presentation is an acknowledgement of the valuable time people gave to their organisation.
Their service is crucial as it keeps down the cost of getting those meals to people in the community, she says.
