Congratulations to our Salinas program Volunteers of the Quarter – 4^th quarter – Claudia and Steve Schaub! This dynamic duo goes the extra mile to help the seniors who receive our home delivered meals. They are reliable and make themselves available if we need them to deliver meals on additional routes. We are so thankful that Claudia and Steve are MOWSV volunteers.

After retiring from Salinas Valley Community Church in 2023, Claudia was seeking a volunteer opportunity where she could engage with people in need on a one-on-one basis and provide them with a necessary service. After delivering Meals on Wheels one time she knew this was a good fit for her heart’s desire to serve others. Claudia has been volunteering at MOWSV since June of 2023. She was a substitute driver for a while and eventually was assigned her own route. Steve knew how much she loved it and when his work schedule changed, opening up Wednesdays, they requested an additional route they could do together. Steve started volunteering in December of 2023. The couple says, “It is such a blessing for us to volunteer together.”

Both Claudia and Steve agree that getting to know their “peeps” is the best part of volunteering. They have become quite fond of their senior clients and enjoy spending a few minutes during each delivery sharing their lives and stories. They would tell others interested in starting on the volunteer journey that it is very rewarding to provide food -- the sustenance of life -- but also to bring a smile and loving concern to those who, otherwise, have very little to no social interactions each day.

Before they chose to volunteer for MOWSV, both were very busy in their work lives. Over her career of 14 years, Claudia filled several administrative roles at Salinas Valley Community Church and was Community Outreach Director, coordinating church volunteers to serve organizations throughout Salinas. She and Steve owned a motorcycle dealership in Gilroy for 32 years. They sold the business in 2017 and since then Steve enjoys being a business broker and helping people buy and sell businesses.

The Schaub’s have lived on the Central Coast for many years. Steve grew up in the Adirondack mountains in upstate New York and Claudia grew up in a small New England town in Massachusetts. Claudia shared, “As fate would have it, we both moved to California to the Monterey Peninsula, met, fell in love, and settled in Prunedale.”  They have called Prunedale home for the past 35 years and have two grown children who live in the area, as well.

The couple loves the great outdoors: hiking, kayaking, and camping – throughout the beautiful state of California. The couple loves to take long walks on the beach in search of sea glass. Claudia enjoys spending time in nature tending to her garden. Steve’s hobbies include fishing, archery and bow hunting. The Schaubs express the sentiment “Best times are spent with family and friends.”

We are so grateful that Claudia and Steve have chosen to become volunteers and advocates of MOWSV and our clients! Congratulations to this couple on being honored as Volunteers of the Quarter.