This summer, a mom and her two sons decided to spend their time giving back to the seniors in their community — and what started two years ago as a day of volunteering turned into a summer they’ll never forget.

Two years ago, Jessica brought her sons, Emmanuel and Gabriel, to Meals on Wheels of Sarasota to help package meals. They were amazed to see nearly 500 meals leave our kitchen in just over an hour!

When they returned this summer, they decided to take their volunteering a step further and try delivering meals. They wanted to see the clients they were helping and experience the impact firsthand. Needless to say, they fell in love with it!

“My favorite part this summer was getting to connect with new people and drive all different types of routes. We really got close to the clients. In fact, one of our clients gave us mangoes from their tree. Funny enough, now we have a mango tree growing in our garden.”

Jessica shared something simple yet so profound about why she believes in giving back to seniors:

“Everyone ages, so we should all be kind to each other.”

Jessica, Emmanuel, and Gabriel volunteered every single day, always willing to jump in wherever they were needed. Their kindness, compassion, and dedication made a difference to so many of our clients — and brightened our summer, too. 💙

Thank you, Jessica, Emmanuel, and Gabriel, for being such an important part of the Meals on Wheels family this summer!

Fun fact: Both Emmanuel and Gabriel are musicians! In their free time, they play the drums, guitar, and piano. 🎶