Trinity Oaks residents 'Fill that Bus!' for Rowan Helping Ministries

Quentin Long loads a bus with boxes of donated food. Residents at Trinity Oaks in Salisbury and other Lutheran Services entities conduct an all-day food drive Jan. 19 for Rowan Helping Ministries in honor of King and the Jan. 20 inauguration of Barack Obama. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

Residents at Trinity Oaks in Salisbury and other Lutheran Services entities conduct an all-day food drive Jan. 19 for Rowan Helping Ministries in honor of King and the Jan. 20 inauguration of Barack Obama. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

By Mark Wineka

mwineka@salisburypost.com

Forty-one boxes and counting.

Residents at the Trinity Oaks retirement community led efforts, which concluded today, to fill one of their passenger buses with goods for the Rowan Helping Ministries pantry.

Michael D. Walsh, executive director at Trinity Oaks, said participation in the food drive represented an incredible day for the Lutheran Services for the Aging family, which includes Trinity Oaks, the Lutheran Home, Abundant Living Adult Day Services and the LSA Salisbury headquarters.

Members of the community at large also stopped by Trinity Oaks to contribute canned goods and other non-perishable items to the bus.

Quentin Long, transportation director for Trinity Oaks, drove the heavier-than-usual bus to the Rowan Helping Ministries location on North Long Street today.

The "Fill That Bus!" theme was Trinity Oaks' slant on the familiar "Move That Bus" chant that is part of television's "Extreme Makeover" show.

It also was a way Trinity Oaks residents took part in Monday's National Day of Service, inspired by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and the Barack Obama-Joe Biden inauguration happening today.

"It was well worthwhile," said Diane B. Hundley, director of marketing and sales.

The food drive collections actually started Jan. 12 as Trinity Oaks residents began leaving food boxes outside their doors. Staff members covered the three floors picking up boxes and making more available.

"The stuff really did come in every day," Hundley said, adding it wasn't just on Wednesday after the weekly trip to Wal-Mart or Friday after the weekly trip for groceries.

"Things just came all week long."

Trinity Oaks parked one of its buses on the hill next to Klumac Road with a "Fill That Bus" banner as an advertisement for the food drive. It was one of the few locally advertised National Day of Service projects, and Hundley said it also proved to be a perfect way for residents to pay tribute to the King holiday.

Last Thursday, residents and staff combined to produce an original YouTube video about their "Fill That Bus!" project. They created it for entry into a YouTube video contest in connection with the National Day of Service.

Trinity Oaks residents could later watch the video in the club area.