OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Pictured from left to right: Mark Ziemba, Mike Dimmer, Dennis Gawronski, Executive Director Deb Pacos, Joe D’Amore, Matt Gawronski, Jerry Crane, Tim Graminski, and Frank Solares.

Several years ago, a member of Dunkirk’s Moniuszko Club was about to have some time to himself with his wife taking a trip out of town. Deb Pacos joked that the member could reach out to Meals on Wheels because he might not know what to do with himself at dinner time in his wife’s absence.

That playful jab — complete with a letter offering support — was the beginning of a long-standing relationship between the Moniuszko Club and Meals on Wheels that dates back to prior to the pandemic.

Members of the Moniuszko Social Club in Dunkirk recently presented a check of $3,000 to Deb Pacos, Executive Director of Dunkirk-Fredonia Meals on Wheels to support the nonprofit organization that has been serving the community for more than half a century.

Pacos found it hard to describe the impact that the support from the Moniuszko Club and the surrounding community has on her organization. “It means everything to us,” Pacos said. “Being a community based organization, to have such overwhelming, wonderful support out of this community, sometimes I can hardly believe how generous people are.”

The donation will go directly towards the Meals on Wheels DineWell program, which is designed to support clients who have recently been discharged from a stay in the hospital or a rehabilitation center. Pacos said the program helps clients settle back home to regain their strength, while also having a regular visitor check in on them.

“We don’t want anybody winding back up in the hospital. We just want to support their total recovery,” Pacos said.

The DineWell program at Dunkirk-Fredonia Meals on Wheels nearly folded due to limited resources, but support from the community in recent years has funded Meals on Wheels enough to not only keep the program going, but to emphasize it more than ever.

“That’s why we love this community so much. They have always been so supportive. It kind of brings tears to your eyes sometimes because you know it’s tough out there, and people still believe in Meals on Wheels,” Pacos said. “We exist to serve the community, and we exist because of the community.”

In her 10 years with Meals on Wheels, Pacos has always stressed the organization’s role as not just a food delivery service for its clients, but as a way to form bonds throughout the community and provide care however necessary. Pacos l saw an example of that when a client recently fell in their home. Rather than immediately call 911 for help, the client’s first call was to Meals on Wheels. She asked them to call the local police on her behalf to tell them where to find the spare key to come help her get up.

“That was the first thing she thought of, because we had called for help for her before. That was her little pathway in,” Pacos said. “She knew we would handle it for her.”

Pacos is well aware of what it means to seniors and their families to have assistance in their own homes, rather than being displaced to receive support elsewhere. Seniors can keep their independence and their sense of identity attached to their home, while their loved ones have the peace of mind to know that someone is there to check on them, stop in for a friendly conversation, and bring a meal.

All of that good work is done through the support of the community and partners like the Moniuszko Club.

“We’re grateful, we truly are, for everyone who supports the program. It’s our pleasure to support the older people in the community and people that are unwell as best we can,” Pacos said.