Cherokee County Meals On Wheels

Who are the people you serve with your mission?

We serve the entire county of Cherokee, South Carolina. We do not discriminate against race, age, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or income. All persons who need our services are served at no cost to them. The majority of our clients are seniors and are the most vulnerable in our community who would otherwise go hungry without our assistance. We are a small staff who empower a large body of volunteers in an effort to feed and check on our clients. Volunteers do everything in our building from making the meal to bringing the meal, to calling clients for well checks daily. These volunteers are directed by our staff and make it possible for us to have the greatest impact in our community.

How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?

Paper surveys, Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Case management notes, Community meetings/Town halls,

How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,

What significant change resulted from feedback?

Recently we found that our clients needed more than just a meal. We began to implement home delivery of extra groceries, personal hygiene items and minor home repairs. We also provide pet food for our clients who cannot afford it. This keeps clients and pets healthy and happy. Twice a year, we provide a fire safety check, and secure batteries, smoke detectors, and carbon monoxide detectors for those in need. For those homebound clients who were wanted to receive the COVID vaccine, we partnered with DHEC for an in-home vaccine for our clients.

With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners, Donors and Grants,

How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?

By asking for feedback, we have been able to focus on what is most important and what is best practices. It has helped us to be more efficient and more attentive to what the exact needs are. Our relationship has been postively impacted with our clients whom we have surveyed. Because we care enough to find out what our clients' needs are and how they feel about the services that we provide to them, they have more trust in our staff and feel more cared for than if we did not inquire about the value of our services. We cherish our relationships with both our clients and donors and realize that we cannot succeed in effectively taking care of the needs of our community without this mutual respect. The intrinsic value of our clients, donors, and volunteers is essential to our mission.

Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded,

What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection,