From their first phone call, Lué and Dorothy hit it off instantly. “We just found we had so much in common,” Lué says. They’re both animal lovers, they both love New York and they were both looking for connection.

Lué has been volunteering with Citymeals almost as long as she’s lived in the city — two decades now. “Volunteering was woven into the fabric of my life,” she says. For years, she worked at nonprofit organizations before pursuing her dream of acting. Still, she wanted to find ways to support causes she cared about. Initially, that meant delivering meals to her homebound older neighbors. But between juggling auditions and different roles, Lué needed a flexible volunteer opportunity she could do from anywhere.

That’s why she signed up for Citymeals’ Social Calls program. The program connects volunteers with meal recipients for a friendly check-in over the phone, usually during the holiday season when they might feel especially isolated. “That’s how I got connected with Dorothy,” says Lué.

A 92-year-old Bronx native, Dorothy spent her younger years as a career woman. Even now, relying on a walker to get around her apartment, she’s a force to be reckoned with. “She’s extraordinary,” says Lué. “People could learn a lot from her.”

In the two years since their first conversation, the pair have remained in touch. They connect by phone every Friday for at least an hour. “We really talk about everything,” Lué says. “And we have fun giggling over certain things. In some ways, it doesn’t feel like volunteering because she’s my friend now.”

While the Social Calls program is meant to help combat loneliness among the older New Yorkers Citymeals serves, Lué feels like she gets just as much out of it as Dorothy. “For me, Dorothy is a reminder of how we can grow older and still be a really vibrant part of society,” she says. “She’s also a great listener.”

We have to support our community any way we can. 

Lué encourages anyone who is interested to give the program a try. While it might not seem like much, a simple phone call can brighten the day of an older person who may not have anyone else to talk to. “We have to support our community any way we can,” she says. “I think everyone can give an hour a week doing something.”