June (far right in red) and her Care Calls clients at a recent luncheon.

June Griffith uniquely understands her Meals on Wheels and More clients.

An 84-year-old widow, June lives alone and relies heavily on her two children, her grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren to help her get around and do errands. Though she has been a Care Calls Volunteer with MOWAM for 22 years, June says she needs her clients now as much as they need her.

“It’s fun to have these people in my life,” she said. “Most of them are like me and are by themselves most of the day. I tell them they can call me anytime – day or night – and I won’t get mad. They’re like my family.”

Care Calls volunteers are phone friends to homebound people and are asked to call their clients at least a couple of times a week to check on them and talk.
“Sometimes it’s just a few minutes. If they’re feeling low, I try to perk them up,” June said. “But if they want to talk, honey, I’ll talk all day long.”

Through the program, June has made many friends, and recently she found herself wishing she could meet them in person. She now hosts monthly luncheons for her clients at a local cafeteria.

“It’s like a family reunion,” she said. “I tell them, ‘Ya’ll are my family.’ [The relationships] keep us going.”

Over the years, June has had about 30 clients. She’s not able to pay visits to them as she once was, but it hasn’t affected her ability to make a difference in other people’s lives.

One client has nicknamed June his “guardian angel;” another sings songs to her over the phone; and yet another, a 42-year-old man with cerebral palsy, teases her by constantly referring to her as his “girlfriend.”

“He gets a big kick out of that,” June said. “And I don’t care. I’m old enough to be his grandmother, but he can call me his girlfriend if he wants to.”

“We’re going to make it big,” she said of the lunches. “I’m going to keep these people so busy they won’t know what to do with themselves.”