Synthesis, Winter 2022

Team conducts volunteer study for Meals on Wheels

By Maegan Mosher

Students in Anderson University’s Public Relations Research and Evaluation course recently conducted a semester-long research project to help the local Meals on Wheels organization communicate more effectively with its volunteers.

Meals on Wheels-Anderson provides lunchtime meals to senior citizens and others who are disabled or homebound in Anderson County. The organization uses volunteers each weekday to prepare and deliver the meals.

“We have asked the class to connect with our current volunteers to seek information that will help us market our need,” Executive Director Laurie Ashley said. “Basically, we are trying to get to the root of why people volunteer so that we will know the target market.”

Ashley said the research will be used to inform the organization’s efforts to increase the number of volunteers so it can serve more people.

The research consisted of an e-mailed survey distributed to current volunteers that gathered demographic data as well as information about volunteers’ motivations and communication preferences. The students also conducted focus groups with current volunteers to add depth to the survey data.

A Meals on Wheels-Anderson volunteer embraces a client while delivering a meal.

Meals on Wheels-Anderson photo

The students then analyzed the data and prepared a formal report for the organization’s leadership.

“The goal of this project is to provide data to Meals on Meals-Anderson to help them be more informed on their volunteer behaviors and tendencies,” said senior public relations major Cooper Reynolds.

Reynolds said the skills he learned from the project will allow him to conduct research and make well-informed, data-based decisions in future jobs.

This is the fourth year that students in the research course have conducted research for an organization in the Anderson community.

Associate Professor of Communications Robert Reeves said that he likes to work with local nonprofit organizations because it allows students to gain valuable professional experience while giving back to the community.

“This is an opportunity to give students experience conducting public relations research, have them interact with a real client and produce a product that is going to have real-world implications,” Reeves said.

Additionally, students walk away from this course with a professional research report to include in their portfolios when they apply for internships, jobs and graduate programs, he said.