OPI’s Office Manager, Rhoda Moore, has been quietly doing a variation of walking her talk by bicycling rather than driving her Meals on Wheels delivery route. The Loaves & Fishes people (parent organization of Meals on Wheels) caught up with her and did this writeup to get the word out. Maybe the idea will catch on!

Volunteer Profile
Rhoda Moore Delivers Using Bicycle

Rhoda Moore has a sticker on her bicycle that says “53 MPB – 53 miles per burrito”. It’s a gentle nudge at the hybrid car claim of great gas mileage. Rhoda, who owns a hybrid car, is in the process of selling it and has relied on two-wheel transportation for several months.

A legal assistant for more than 30 years, Rhoda usually drove her car to work. But when she retired in October 2007, she didn’t really need a car. She lives in a neighborhood that is close to shops and every place she needs to go is accessible by walking or biking. So she bought a bicycle and started pedaling.

Last fall a friend told her about his volunteer work with the Elm Court Loaves & Fishes Center in downtown Portland. Rhoda was intrigued.

“I thought that delivering Meals-On-Wheels would be a good use for my car to keep it running,” Rhoda said. “I had volunteered with the Obama campaign and was really inspired to get more involved in my community, so I gave Ruth at the Two Rivers Center a call. As it turned out, there was a route that could easily be done by bike. I just needed to get a trailer to hold one of the coolers.”……

The cooler in the bike trailer was donated by OPI’s Tom Hastings. (The writeup states it’s the Loaves & Fishes center’s cooler - but no!)  Here’s the full article: http://loavesandfishesonline.org/content/news/aprnewsrhoda.asp