Solano County Business Journal: January 2026

SOARING SOUNDS

LIFETIME FASCINATION TURNS BUSINESS BUILDER INTO PIPE ORGAN CRAFTSMAN

Wellness,

Entrepreneurship in Fairfield woman’s DNA – and

FROM COMMUTES TO CARE: HOW SOLANO

MOBILITY EXPANDS ACCESS ACROSS SOLANO COUNTY

SOLANO TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY

The Solano Transportation Authority’s (STA) Solano Mobility Call Center, launched in 2014, provides customized transportation assistance for Solano County residents. With 18 countywide and two local programs, Solano Mobility supports older adults, people with disabilities, Veterans, students, commuters, and employers by offering practical travel solutions.

COMMUTER & EMPLOYER PROGRAMS

First/Last Mile Program

This program offers discounted Lyft rides between 12 transit hubs and home or work locations, helping commuters close the gap between public transportation and final destinations.

Guaranteed Ride Home (GRH) Program

If an emergency arises, registered commuters can use Uber, Lyft, or a taxi to get home. The GRH program covers up to six trips per year, limited to $100 per ride.

Guaranteed Ride for Solano Express Riders

Solano Express riders facing missed or canceled routes can use up to four Uber rides per month under this program to travel from one Solano

Express bus to another.

Vanpool Options

• Traditional Vanpools: Form a group of 7-15 to share commute costs. Eligible vanpools may receive $200$700 monthly subsidies.

• Solano Mobility Express Vanpool: Luxury vans travel weekdays between Vacaville/Dixon and Sacramento, driven by professionals.

Bucks for Bikes & Commute Rewards

The Bucks for Bikes program supports bike commuting, while the Commute Challenge rewards alternative travel with gift cards. Log your commutes at commuterinfo.net to start earning.

PROGRAMS FOR OLDER ADULTS, VETERANS & PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

ADA Eligibility Program

This program determines eligibility for paratransit services under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Eligible individuals can access curb-tocurb rides and use the Intercity Taxi (ITX) Program.

Intercity Taxi Card (ITX) Program

ADA-certified individuals can purchase subsidized taxi fares through a prepaid debit card. Riders pay $40 for $100 in ride credits – or $20 if low income.

Medical Trip Concierge (GoGo

Grandparent)

Seniors 60+ and ADA-eligible riders can receive up to 30 discounted Uber/ Lyft rides per month to medical appointments. Riders pay 40% of the fare – or 20% if low income. Same-day rides with wheelchair-accessible vehicles are available.

Travel Training

This free program teaches individuals how to use public transit independently. One-on-one and group sessions cover route planning, reading schedules, and fare payment.

Veterans Mobility Program

Veterans can access local VA and medical facilities – including Travis AFB and Martinez VA – via the Medical Concierge or ITX programs. Wheelchair-accessible rides are available.

Local Transit Options

Solano Mobility provides support for everyday travel through services like:

• Transit Trip Planning & Info

• Travel Training

• Benicia & Suisun City Lyft Discounts

• Suisun City Microtransit

For help planning your commute or learning more about Solano Mobility’s services, visit www.solanomobility.org or call the Solano Mobility Call Center at 800-535-6883, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

FAIRFIELD FUNERAL HOME

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707-425-1041

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More civic awards, community improvement awards and ethnic service awards than any other funeral home owner in the U.S.A.

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LIFETIME FASCINATION TURNS BUSINESS BUILDER INTO PIPE ORGAN CRAFTSMAN

Pipe organs have inspired the faithful, musicians and even poets.

Walt Whitman wrote in a five-stanza metered affirmation of love: “I HEARD you, solemn-sweet pipes of the organ, as last Sunday morn I pass’d the church...”

For Jack Bethards, owner and chairman of Schoenstein & Co. in Benicia, the muse was a pipe organ in the Episcopal church he attended while growing up in Santa Rosa.

“It started as a hobby when I was very young,” said Bethards, who started life in Ross. “I was just fascinated with pipe organs.”

Not only did the complex, varied and soaring sounds appeal to young Bethards, a trumpeter who also plays double bass and performed in orchestras and dance bands over the years, but the very nature of the instrument also appealed to his farm-raised nature to fix and tinker.

It was Schoenstein & Co., then a San Francisco company, that was hired to work on the Santa Rosa organ.

“And I was there watching them,” Bethards said.

It is a zeal he has carried throughout his life – a high school and summertime vocation – it continued even as the open road Bethards took was marketing and brand management with Procter & Gamble.

“That was a wonderful experience,” said Bethards, who noted that he got to work with some of the company’s early managers, as well as some of the newer. It was a blended education that would carry him through a lifetime of marketing and building businesses.

BY TODD R. HANSEN • P HOTOS BY AARON ROSENBLATT

Bethards left the firm after three years because his father had died and he had to return to the farm to shut it down. It took about a year.

As fate would have it, Bethards’ business acumen guided him back to music.

“I got involved in performing arts consulting ... and my first big job was the San Francisco Opera,” he said.

He attended rehearsals and met many of the performers, though he does not have a particular favorite. He does, however, favor the works of composer Giacomo Puccini and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky –giants in the Romantic Period in music of the 19th century.

Bethards would become manager at the Oakland Symphony Orchestra, and while doing that work, the Symphony Orchestra Association purchased the Paramount Theatre for $1 million in 1972, beginning the

painstaking renovation of the art deco-styled “movie palace.” The work was completed in 1973.

Just prior to that, Bethards had purchased his own Wurlitzer organ, which he set up in a San Francisco loft.

Through his contacts in the industry, Bethards learned that Erwin Schoenstein – the thirdgeneration owner – was looking to sell the family business, then Felix F. Schoenstein and Sons, which had been started in 1877. It is the oldest and largest organ builder in the western United States.

Bethards still has all of the original company’s business records in an archives room at his Benicia plant, saving the history from being tossed out.

“I really wanted my own business, and so why not pipe organs,” Bethards reasoned.

So in 1977, he purchased the company, moving it to a 30,000-square-foot building in Benicia in 2004.

“It was perfect for us. It was a woodworking company: high-end cabinets,” he said.

Bethards is still enamored in the complexity of the instrument, both in its construction and sounds.

“Organs are just like orchestras ... a mechanically controlled orchestra,” he said, creating the sounds of strings and woodwind and brass.

“All the sounds you can think of in a symphony orchestra you can find in an organ,” Bethards added. “And we strive to create those tones.”

The company typically builds one organ a year, maybe two if the organs are small. Early this month it had completed work on one being shipped to Coral Gables, Florida, which his team will install and tune over the next few months.

It also had started one that will eventually go to St. Louis.

And the first step, always, is to go to the space where the organ will be in and test the room for the best sounds and other details. Then a design of the organ is put on paper.

“That way it is custom-made for that place,” Bethards said.

Poplar is the primary wood used, with metal and wood pipes depending on the organ, each fashioned individually with a host of parts that must work in concert with each other.

“We used to make our own pipes, but now we buy ours from a big outfit in Ohio. But we finish them here,” said Bethards, explaining that California laws also make the manufacturing aspect more difficult.

Bethards has 19 employees –never more because of

California’s labor laws, he said – and each are expert at their tasks: step by step, piece by piece, creating an instrument that will fit the space and Schoenstein’s vision and standard.

And Bethards signs off on every one.

“I find every one of the jobs interesting,” he said, adding that who plays it makes a big difference, too. It is not like playing a piano.

“To play an organ is easy; to

make it sound beautiful is much more difficult,” Bethards said.

Among the organs Schoenstein & Co. has built is the 7,708-pipe organ in the 21,000seat Conference Center in Salt Lake City (the Tabernacle organ has 11,623 pipes).

“That was a wonderful project –a big one,” Bethards said.

Others the company has built can be found at the Juilliard School, at St. James Church in New York, and one is

at the Nashville Tennessee Symphony Hall.

Schoenstein, of course, repairs and tunes pipe organs, specialized jobs Bethards said make fine careers.

However, he has found it difficult to find younger individuals interested in the artisan craft, and wonders if today’s youth really has the same interest in making and fixing things like he did in his youth.

He has even spoken at area high schools, but finds the interest lacking.

He did find one special man in that journey.

Bryan Dunnewald, an accomplished organist, has the same passion for the instrument as Bethards. He even interned as a college student.

“It’s pretty well done,” Bethards said of the transition in management.

“So he’s president of the company and running it, and I’m just helping out in the background.”

SWEET SMILES BAKERY AND CONFECTIONS OFFERS JALAPEÑO BRITTLE, MORE

AMY MAGINNIS-HONEY

Alongtime friendship is even sweeter at Sweet Smiles Bakery and Confections.

The home-based business started from a very personal place for Russell Smith-Kama keeaina. He and Penny Carter started the company, having been friends since they were 2.

“Growing up, some of our fondest memories were made in the kitchen, learning family recipes that had been passed down through generations,” he said. “Those recipes were always about more than food. They were about bringing people together. Sweet Smiles is our way of sharing those traditions, flavors, and moments of joy with the community.”

another popular item that offers a rich and indulgent flavor.

Sweet Smiles Bakery and Confections welcomes custom orders.

One of the company’s more unique items is Jalapeño Pistachio Brittle.

That recipe surfaced at an annual family candy-making day when a sweet-spicy-loving family member suggested the combination: add jalapeño to the pistachio brittle.

“Once we tasted it, we knew we had something special,” Smith-Kamakeeaina shared. “It was an instant hit with our family, and it’s been a favorite with

“One of the things we love most is working directly with customers to create something special just for them,” he shared. “Whether it’s a unique flavor idea or a special occasion, we enjoy bringing our customers’ ideas and imaginations to life.”

Smith-Kamakeeaina is a Fairfield native and Fairfield High School graduate.

This community has always been his home, making it especially meaningful to serve the

people he grew up alongside.

His love of food started when he was a child cooking with his mother and grandmothers.

Over the years, he worked in many restaurants throughout Solano County in roles ranging from host to waiter. In 1994, he and Carter opened Down Home Cooking Catering, which later became Platinum Catering.

“Even after moving into the finance industry, my passion for cooking and entertaining never left. It’s always been part of who I am,” he said.

Smith-Kamakeeaina has a soft spot for the chocolate walnut fudge. The Decadent Dubai Bar is a close second.

Sweet Smiles Bakery and Confections has a website and Facebook page. You can also find the treats at local vendor pop-up events, both planned and spontaneous. Phone orders allows a constant connection with customers.

Sweet Smiles Bakery and Confections also offers sugar-free and gluten-free options.

All fudges can be made sugar-free, with the exception of the Decadent Dubai Bar. All

brittles are gluten-free.

“Sweet Smiles Bakery and Confections is truly a labor of love,” Smith-Kamakeeaina shared. “Penny and I share a long-term dream of one day launching a food truck, where we can expand our reach and share even more of our family-style, home-cooked recipes with the community.

“Everything we make is handcrafted with care, and we’re incredibly grateful for the support of our community. Our goal is simple: to create food and treats that make people smile and feel connected, one bite at a time.”

To order a sweet treat, visit www.sweetsmilestreats.com, call 707-439-3522 or send an email to info@sweetsmilestreats.com. 

WELLNESS, INDEPENDENCE AT CENTER OF NEW VACA PHARMACY

TODD R. HANSEN

Nichola Archer worked for a large pharmacy chain for many years.

But she wanted her own independent place, emphasizing wellness at the core of her services.

“We are very happy right now. It is a great space. We’ll see how it goes,” Archer said.

Archer and her husband, Dwight Archer – a general education teacher at California State Prison – opened Vacaville Pharmacy and Wellness Center in the Safeway shopping center on Harbison Drive on Dec. 12. It includes a delivery service.

She does not compound medicines, yet, but that could be part of the pharmacy’s future.

The Archers admit setting up the business took some doing because there is so much involved, especially with a pharmacy. But since opening, they have seen a fair amount of foot traffic because of being so close to Safeway, and because they are right down from a gymnasium, too.

They have purposefully stocked some of their shelves to meet those fitness wants.

“It’s been positive,” Dwight Archer said about the early reception. He helps out on the business side of things. “It’s a local business, and I think Vacaville likes local.”

He said it is the only independent pharmacy in the city.

The couple and their two children – one boy, one girl – have lived in Vacaville since 2014.

“My sister lives in Vacaville, and I wanted to be closer to family,” Nichola Archer said.

Her story started in her home country of Jamaica. She had moved to New York, and it was there at a Brooklyn church she met her future husband. A mutual friend introduced them.

They married in 2006, and are eager to celebrate their 20th anniversary this year.

Dwight Archer also is from Jamaica. His career has always been in education. He was teaching in Queens when he met his wife.

Nichola Archer was working in hospital administration at the time, but was looking for something more connected to patient care.

“I always liked the sciences, but not dealing with business, just

a nice place with medicine,” Archer said. “(Pharmaceuticals) was a good fit for my personality.”

She found her calling at the Temple School of Pharmacy, from which she graduated in 2012.

Moving to Philadelphia proved to be just the latest “home” with a variety of cultural experiences, which the Archers love. The street trolleys, she admits, were a little different. Vacaville also has its own taste of diversity.

Family remains a priority for the Archers.

The business hours are 9 a.m to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. They are willing to stretch the hours with specific customer needs, but the weekend belongs to them and their children.

Archer said it is important “to have a life at the end of the day.” 

ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN FAIRFIELD WOMAN’S DNA – AND HEART

TODD R. HANSEN

Nikila Gibson is not happy just running a business – or even two.

The third-generation businesswoman wants those enterprises to serve a deeper purpose; to lift some of the burdens off her clients’ lives.

So as Gibson gets ready to celebrate 10 years with LAVE Wash, the mission has not changed with the opening of Tiny Town Solano in the Solano Town Center in November.

Gibson said business cannot just be about money.

“I started purpose-based businesses because that leads to human impact first, profit second,” she said. “If you do something well, profits will follow.”

Gibson was actually running a home preschool when she started to hear the parents of the children talk about the stresses in their lives. One that kept coming up was laundry.

“Laundry is a bottleneck, a stressor,” Gibson said. “I have had people call me with questions and end up crying.”

More than a few of her clients are dealing with a medical crisis with their families, and the idea of

coming home and having to do laundry, could push them to the brink of an emotional collapse.

So she decided to open LAVE Wash, a laundry delivery service, which she opened in Fairfield and now has clients in Contra Costa and Alameda as well.

She has served more than 2,000 commercial and residential customers, and many have been with the company since the beginning. The average is four to

five years. She offers subscription and per-pound rates.

“We care about their stories; we care about their lives,” Gibson said.

Gibson and her husband, Coy Gibson, who is also involved in the business, had three children, and she was pregnant at the time. It took about a year after the fourth child was born to move forward with the company.

Their children are now 17, 16, 12 and 8 – all girls.

The company recently closed its laundering facility in Fairfield because it was too small for the demand, but hopes to open another facility in Solano County to go with the other two they operate.

Gibson said a purposebased business has social and environmental missions, with shared values for the company, employees and customers alike.

The Gibsons employ five in the laundry business and one with Tiny Town.

It is also intended to benefit society, and by doing so creates its own loyalty, innovations and, ultimately, long-term success.

She said there were other laundry services that opened at the same time she opened LAVE

Wash, some with big bankrolls, but they have all closed for one reason or another.

Next fall, the Gibsons hope to introduce their own laundry detergent brand, L’AVE Maison. True to the purpose-based philosophy, it will have a foundation of being environmentally friendly and sustainable.

Until then, Gibson will focus on growing Tiny Town Solano – an enterprise she describes as a “discovery museum for children.”

She recently held a daytime New Year’s Eve party that attracted more than a dozen children.

“Joyous and wonderous” is how Gibson described it.

Gibson said it is all about providing something that she did not think really existed in Solano County.

“It’s a space for exploration, discovery and experimenting,” Gibson said of the education center.

The new enterprise fits her own background. She studied psychology and behavioral science with an emphasis on child development.

Gibson said the center offers a variety of activities, which will change and grow as the families’ needs also change and grow.

For more information on LAVE Wash, go to LaveWash.com. 

MOTHER OF SEVERELY DISABLED CHILD TURNS TO CANNOLI FOR EXTRAS

BY AARON ROSENBLATT/DAILY REPUBLIC

TODD R. HANSEN

Howie Posey requires around-the-clock medical care, and likely will need intensive care for life. He has been diagnosed with a rare type of 14 18 Chromosome Translocation. In Howie’s case, the No. 18 chromosome was undeveloped and the No. 14 chromosome attached itself to No. 18.

“The doctor told us she had never seen anything like that before,” Emily Pozzobon, Howie’s mother, said.

The lack of familiarity with the condition has created some challenges, and at times, even conflicts with his medical care. The family has even switched providers when the responses have been too negative, or too ambiguous or have not come at all.

But Pozzobon has nothing but praise for Howie’s two nurses: Abe Calangan and Kelly John. She said both go above and beyond their duties, often spending more time than their scheduled shifts, and each have responded when the family needs help.

The nurses are from Maximum Health Care Nursing in Sacramento, funded by the family’s Kaiser insurance.

“We have gone through a lot of nurses. They see Howie and they say, ‘oh no, he is way too complicated ... too high risk,’” Pozzobon said.

They are allowed 16 hours per day, but do get the full allotment. John, for example, has another full-time job.

The family was told before Howie was born that he would not survive, and certainly not live past his early toddler years.

The news was a surprise to the family. Pozzobon knew there was a problem with her pregnancy, but it was not until they had brought Howie home that the worst of the symptoms appeared.

He contracted respiratory syncytial virus, and from that pneumonia and ultimately received the full diagnosis. It forced the baby to be on a ventilator and

oxygen full-time.

Howie no longer needs the ventilator unless his vital signs show the need, which was unexpected. That same is true for oxygen. He has gone through multiple surgeries and dozens upon dozens of trips to the hospital – including specialty care at Kaiser Oakland.

Pozzobon is hopeful that within the year Howie’s tracheostomy cuff – an inflatable balloon tracheostomy – can be removed, and since there does not seem to be any damage to the vocal cords or the larynx, there is also family hope he will be learn to speak at some level.

His father, Howard Posey, said the only words his son spoke before his illness worsened are, “I love you.”

Howie, who weighs 39 pounds, 8 ounces – just shy of the 42-pound average weight for a 5-year-old boy – can easily be described as a happy child, smiling at familiar faces – even strangers – and a spinning toy that makes loud noises.

“He likes loud noises,” Pozzobon said.

His father said when he is feeling a bit down, he looks at his son and “I feel happy.”

Howie also responds to Oreo, one of three dogs the family has, but the only one that has taken much interest in Howie. He has become like a service dog for the child.

Like most young boys, Howie likes going outside, and has a particular affinity for fish, birds

and other critters.

So he has gone to zoos in Oakland and Sacramento, and to a science museum in Oakland as well.

In November, his parents –both Armijo High graduates –took Howie to Apple Hill in El Dorado County, a trip his mother had been hoping to take for some time, but health issues did not allow for it.

It couldn’t have gone better, she said.

But such “adventures” with all of Howie’s needs cost money, and even with insurance and Pozzobon’s in-home support services income, the budget is stretched.

The family also has a son, Lucca Pozzobon, 12, from an earlier marriage, and two other sons, Julian Posey, 2, and Nicolas Posey, 9 months.

And so, Emy’s Cannoli were created.

A tray of 20 mini cannoli, with homemade cream and a choice of 20 toppings, costs $40. The home business has helped greatly, Pozzobon said, and she enjoys making the treats. It serves as a

kind of diversion.

She has refused cash donations – and suggestions to start a Howie fund – preferring to be able to give something back for the money people are willing to spend to help her son.

“So if you want to support Howie, you can buy a tray of cannoli,” she said.

Pozzobon also writes a Facebook “blog,” about her son. It is called “Inspired by Baby Howie.” She started it in 2020, and the response has amazed the family.

“I don’t know how I got to 11,000 (followers),” she said, adding that it has just grown organically.

“When he is not well, I ask for prayers.”

Pozzobon also hopes to raise money to buy a special car seat and a safety bed, all from the cannoli proceeds.

“The cannoli are quite easy to make; so yeah, it’s really simple, and I really enjoy doing it. And I know it benefits Howie,” she said.

To order the cannolis, send an order to emyscannoli@gmail. com or text to 707-580-2049. 

A RIO VISTA LANDMARK CLOSES

AMY MAGINNIS-HONEY

Apiece of Delta history locked its doors at the end of 2025.

The Point restaurant opened in 1964. It’s story is tightly tied to the Baumann family. Jack Baumann built The Point and Delta Marina.

Vickie and Jim Baumann owned and ran the restaurant from 1994 until 2012. He is the son of Jack Baumann.

The closure is a huge loss for the town and the Delta, Vickie Baumann said.

“It will affect the Delta Marina and RV park especially,” she shared. It was one of a few waterfront restaurants in the entire Delta.

“We have so many memories from the time we owned The Point,” she said, including Humphrey the humpback whale. “We were credited with naming Humphrey.”

Vickie Baumann also remembers Delta and Dawn two humpback whales – a mother and her calf – who were spotted in Rio Vista on Mother’s Day in 2007.

Hollywood legend John Travolta dined there while filming “Urban Cowboy.”

“He was so gorgeous and so nice. We saved the chair he sat on and it continued to attract a lot of attention over the years,” Vickie

Baumann shared.

There was more than food, fundamentals were taught.

“I think one of the most important things we did while there was that we mentored so many young people,” Baumann shared. “For many it was their first job and we taught them the importance of reliability, being on time and hard work.”

The restaurant was known for its clam chowder and seafood and the best calamari and luncheons in the Delta, according to Jim Pezzaglia.

His mother, for almost 40 years, ate at The Point monthly. His parents celebrated their golden wedding anniversary at the venue.

“My Rio Vista High School Class of 1959 celebrated our 10th, 20th, 40th and 50th class reunions there,” he shared.

Another Point fan had his first crush on a waitress there.

“The moment I noticed her, I knew I had to get a job. So I did. I got hired to bus tables,” he

shared. His mother was employed there.

After getting his first paycheck, he went to the bank and then The Point.

“You want to sit in my sections?” his mother inquired. He opted for the beautiful waitress Julie’s section. He asked what was good on the menu, she suggested blackened catfish. He obliged.

“What was I thinking?” he asked rhetorically. “What 16-year-old orders blackened catfish?”

The meal’s cost was $12. He gave her $20 and told her to keep the change. She kissed his cheek, smiled, and said thank you.

“Then she went straight to my mom and said, ‘Your son just tipped $8 on a $12 tab,’ ” he recalled.

The Point was a popular restaurant for Bob and Ann Jacobs to enjoy dinners with friends in 1970 and beyond.

One evening, a group of eight dined together.

“Afterward, we didn’t want to leave a half-full bottle of wine on the table, so one of our party tucked it under his coat, thus dropping it on the carpet on the way out! We were too embarrassed to return for awhile,” Ann Jacobs shared.

She celebrated her 80th birthday a year ago with

20 family members at The Point, which included Hawaiian dancers for entertainment. A few pieces of her artwork hangs on the walls.

The Point was a much appreciated mini gallery for a dozen years for local artists. Jacobs sold several pieces.

The Point opened its doors to a variety of service clubs and some fundraisers.

Hayley Howard had a baby shower there with her first-born son.

“It was the perfect venue for our celebration and I hold such a strong fondness for the team there because of it,” she shared.

“It’s incredibly sad that they were not able to continue business, so it’s nice to have memories to reflect on.”

The establishment said it was unable to reach an agreement on its lease for the space on 120 Marina Drive. Biz By Sell has the property listed for sale, asking price is $350,000.

The monthly rent is listed at $9,000, which was one of the reasons the last operators decided not to stay.

“Unfortunately, we were unable to reach an agreement on our new lease, and with the challenges of the current economy, we’ve made the difficult decision to close our doors,” they said on a social media post. 

GIVE A LITTLE TIME, CHANGE A LOT VOLUNTEER WITH MEALS ON WHEELS SOLANO COUNTY

MEALS ON WHEELS

When we think about helping others, grand gestures often come to mind. Yet sometimes, the most meaningful difference is made in just one heartfelt knock at someone’s front door. At Meals on Wheels Solano County, our volunteers are doing just that – delivering nourishment, dignity, and a friendly face to homebound seniors across our community.

WHY YOUR TIME MATTERS

Beyond nutrition: More than just meals, your presence conveys compassion and human connection. Many clients eagerly await their delivery not just for the food, but for the chance to see someone caring about them.

Flexible roles: Whether you prefer active work or behind-the-scenes support, there’s a volunteer role that fits your strengths and schedule. Options include the warmth of meal delivery, the precision of meal packing, the support of office assistance, and the energy of fundraising and event help. mealsonwheelssolano.org

Meaningful impact: Every hour you invest nurtures independence, combats isolation, and strengthens our local safety net.

VOLUNTEERS IN ACTION

Imagine: you sign up for a weekly delivery route. You step into a quiet neighborhood, knock on a client’s door, hand them a nutritious meal, and share a brief greeting. That brief exchange

A volunteer prepares meals, which are to be frozen and distributed

may brighten their entire day. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, another volunteer is organizing bags for the next day, ensuring every client gets the regular, nourishing food they deserve.

Behind the scenes, in the office, volunteers help with administrative tasks, data entry, or calls that keep the program running efficiently. Others bring their energy to fundraising events, spreading awareness and support for this vital service.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

It doesn’t take long to make a difference. Volunteers of all backgrounds and ages are welcome. mealsonwheelssolano.org/volunteer You choose what role suits you best and how

much time you can give.

• Deliver Meals: Bring nutritious meals and compassion to seniors’ doorsteps

• Pack Meals & Produce: Help prepare shelf-stable and fresh produce bags

• Office Assistance: Support administrative and operational work

• Events & Fundraising: Assist with community outreach, events, and campaign efforts

Ready to step in? Apply today and join a community of caring volunteers who show up – sometimes with a meal, always with heart. Your dedication can change lives and uplift the spirits of those who need it most.

Visit mealsonwheelssolano.org/ volunteer to learn more and sign up. 

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