Sister Cindy Sullivan, BVM, Executive Director of Massena Meals on Wheels, retired Dec. 22, after helping to provide meals to the elderly and disabled for the past seven years. 

Sullivan, left, has retired as Massena Meals on Wheels Executive Director. The new director is Stacie Sweet, right. Photo courtesy of Massena Meals on Wheels

“It’s been a pleasure to work with everyone. I love working with all the volunteers,” said Sullivan.

The Meals on Wheels program delivers meals five days a week to approximately 85 clients, only closing during ice storms.

“The drivers are true volunteers. They drive through thick and thin. They don’t get paid a stipend for their gas,” she said. Sullivan pays them with baked cookies daily.

A graduate of Massena Central School in 1971, Sullivan said a lot of her former classmates are volunteer drivers.

“I like meeting all of our clients and getting to know them,” said Sullivan.

She visits each client yearly, and she calls clients twice a year, as part of the guidelines of the Office for the Aging.

Sullivan said she also likes to meet the community people, businesses, service clubs and organizations who help with fundraising.

“The community holds Meals on Wheels in high esteem. They are so generous to us. Without them, we couldn’t keep the wheels going,” she said.

“Lots of clients can’t give a contribution toward the cost of the meals,” she said.

The executive director must wear many hats. The job involves not only ordering food, planning menus, filling in as cook and driver when needed, and packaging food for delivery, but also payroll, budgeting, fundraising, grant writing, and correspondence.

Stacie Sweet is now the new executive director, having served as the Massena Meals on Wheels cook for the past year.

John Pache was hired as the new cook to replace Sweet. He previously worked at Jakes on the Water, Hannawa Falls, as a cook.

After retirement, Sister Sullivan plans on serving those in need in Ecuador. She will continue to fundraise for the Center for Working Families and The Working Boy’s Center in Quito, Ecuador, while still living in Massena.

Sullivan joined the Peace Corp after leaving Massena. She worked at the center in Ecuador for 43 years. She returned to Massena seven years ago to take care of her parents, but still helped raise funds for the center.

“I am the main fundraiser for the mission. I want to write grants to help them build their own center with more room for a daycare, classrooms, adult education and meals,” Sullivan said.