Cranston man, 76, volunteers weekly delivering meals in memory of father-in-law

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — A Cranston man with a lot of compassion for others his age is doing all he can to make sure they know they can depend on him.

About four years ago, 76-year-old Joseph Leach said he learned about 'Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island.'

“My father-in-law used to receive the meals when he lived on Charles Street and he was housebound with arthritis," said Leach. "I used to meet the meals on wheels guy, his name was Bob. Bob used to brighten his day by coming out every day with his meal."

Leach and his father-in-law were extremely close.

After his passing, Leach decided he wanted to be the person to brighten the lives of others.

“And I thought, 'I’d like to do that someday,'" said Leach. “At first, I didn’t know what it was going to be like but it’s great. I love it. I love doing it.”

Located at 70 Bath Street in Providence, Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island is an independent, non-profit organization that helps homebound, older adults and other at-risk Rhode Islanders to maintain safe, independent lifestyles.

"Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island, for 55 years we’ve been serving home-delivered meals across the state of Rhode Island," the Executive Director of Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island Meghan Grady said. “In history, we have actually served 20 million home delivered meals and each week we’re serving 7,500 meals.”

According to Grady, about 1,500 people are helped each day.

In order to help them, the organization relies heavily on volunteers to deliver meals to residences. A small other portion are paid drivers.

“We have about 500 volunteers so we have over 80 routes so about 70 of those routes are being delivered by volunteers each weekday," the External Affairs Admission Advancement Director Amy Garofalo said. "Our staff and volunteers are also doing safety and wellness checks on the clients."

Leach volunteers his services twice a week.

On his own time and dime, he delivers meals to about 20 clients per day.

“I do two routes, one on Monday and Wednesday. The one on Monday is Providence, the one on Wednesday is Cranston," said Leach. “My routes, I have them memorized. If I get a new stop I have to GPS it."

Since he began volunteering, Leach has made a lot of friends.

He understands for many of them, having him in their company is the only socialization some of them receive each week.

“I just look forward to it, it’s like I'm meeting friends every day. Go around, people brighten your day also you know," he said. “They’re always smiling when I get there and they do good for me too, you know. Feels good for me to see them.”

Leach is a navy veteran.

His service and sacrifice didn't end when he left the military.

He has never called out of a volunteer shift since he signed up.

“So he’s so impressive with his record, his longevity of service, his dedication, you know he’s definitely loyal," said Garofalo.

“I got canceled once for the snow and I didn’t enjoy that being canceled for the snow," said Leach. "One of my clients said, 'You must’ve been happy' I said, 'No, I look forward to coming out, I didn’t want it to be canceled.'”

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Currently, Meals on Wheels is looking for volunteers in counties all over the state.

Volunteers can sign up whenever they want, for as long as they want.

“I love it. I love working with Meals on Wheels and all the other volunteers and people who work inside. It’s a joy to do it," said Leach.

“Not only has there been an increase in need, we are preparing for our aging population of Rhode Island at 100,000 older adults to its population in the next 10 years and so working under our strategic plan we’re getting ready for that," said Grady.