David Poole likes to keep moving. He says when he was working as a tile and hardwood floor installer, he didn’t like a job if it took him longer than a week. He wanted to get on to the next one.
“I have to be up and moving around,” Poole said.
That’s what he was doing April 19—moving—when he received an appreciated gift. Walking down his Redbanks Towers hallway after he’d been outside for some air and a cigarette, he was greeted by three local high school students who delivered a ham and canned goods.
High school seniors Jacob Chapman, Victor Cruz and Logan Darnell were participating in Feed Seniors Now, a program in which the Green River Area Development District partnered with Independence Bank, Comfort Keepers and Specialty Food Groups to deliver food to elderly adults in Henderson County, as well as Daviess, McLean, Webster and Hancock counties.
Locally, volunteers, including high school seniors, met at the Green Steet Independence Bank branch and loaded bags of food. They then scattered through the county to distribute it.
The students and Henderson Fire Department firefighters met at Redbanks Towers to help give out the food, the majority of which was collected at the high school, said Kelsey Hargis, community enrichment officer for the local Independence Bank.
Hargis said more than 500 donations were given to senior citizens throughout the region.
In a release from Independence Bank, GRADD In-Home Services Manager Amber Phelps said food insecurity is often an “unseen and unaddressed issue” and a goal of the Feed Seniors Now program is to raise awareness of senior food insecurity while also providing assistance.
Poole, 74, worked for 20 years as a baker before he developed an allergy to flour, he said. After that, he started installing ceramic tiles and hardwood floors. He did that for more than 30 years, before retiring, he said.
Poole’s a music lover. Several guitars adorn the walls of his apartment. Music helps people deal with difficulties in their lives, he said.
“Music brings out the best in you,” he said.
He said he helps out at Abba’s Music on Main Street, mostly greeting and talking to customers.
“I love people,” he said, and by going to Abba’s, “I get to meet a lot of people.”
Poole, who has been living at Redbanks for 3 ½ years, said he’s grateful for the gift.
“Anything helps, especially when you’re on Social Security,” he said. “Money’s kind of tight.”
