Meals on Wheels delivers hundreds of presents across Lubbock area

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - More than 800 Lubbock-area residents are getting early Christmas presents this week.

Volunteers with Meals on Wheels spent part of their day playing Secret Santa for the non-profit’s elderly and homebound clients, but there’s no magic sleigh to get those presents to their nice-list recipients.

Just those hardworking volunteers.

“We had people buying for over 860 clients,” Meals on Wheels Director Lisa Gilliland said. “So, we had to keep all the sizes correct, all the colors correct, all the genders correct.”

A little kindness can make a big difference for Meals on Wheels clients.

“You never know how important these gifts are going to be for our clients, because for many of them, this is the only Christmas gift they’ll receive,” Gilliland said. “For us to be able to help with that and the community to step up, everyone got adopted in a week, so it was amazing to see the community take care of their neighbors.”

With a wish list that even Santa would have trouble filling - it was all hands on deck to get the job done.

“It took a ton of people in the community,” Gilliland said. “Some of our regular volunteers, everyone came out and helped us. There was even groups that provided extras like puzzle books, and hygiene items, and slipper socks so that we could make their Christmas extra special.”

The holiday gift bags were made possible in part by a $10,000 donation by TXU Energy.

TXU Senior Manager Kim Campbell said the company is always looking to get involved in the communities they power.

“We know that Meals on Wheels may be the only people that some of the clients see,” Campbell said. “Just to be able to bring a little bit of sunshine into their lives especially on a dark gloomy day is just why we’re here and why we love doing what we do.”