BURLINGTON - Few people can say that they love their jobs and that the fact they are helping others is a "perk" of their employment.

Employees with the Lawrence County Multi-Purpose Senior Center who deliver meals to Lawrence County's senior citizens every week say that helping people and getting to know them is definitely a part of their jobs that they enjoy.

"It makes me feel good," Chris Schneider said. "In some small, minute way I'm doing something to help people."

Schneider is the supervisor of the home delivered meals and transportation at the Sybene Senior Center. The home delivered meals are delivered to the seniors every week, come rain, sleet or snow. Schneider said that they are almost just like the mail man - they go year round.

The program serves about 150 meals a day, with around 250 meals being delivered on Friday. They go anywhere in Lawrence County.

"I love my job. I love my drivers," he said.

They have three routes Monday through Friday which include the Chesapeake/ Proctorville route, the South Point / Coal Grove route and the Ironton route. Schneider said that on Wednesday they go to Waterloo and more rural areas of the county. The center has been serving the meals since it opened about 13 years ago.

"Some people that you deliver to, you know that's the only hot meal they'll get that day," he said. "That always made me feel good, even as a driver, knowing that they were getting a hot meal."

The meals delivered to the seniors are frozen and microwavable, meaning that the seniors need only to pull them out of the freezer and pop them into the microwave.

They also furnish diabetic meals to those clients who are diabetic.

Many of the meals are free or reduced to the seniors, depending upon what programs that they qualify for. Schneider said that the biggest part of them is involved in some type of program. When the drivers deliver, they bring seven or 14 meals, whichever the client has ordered.

"I'm thankful for what we do have, for the people that need our help," he said. "There are a lot of people who need our help."

Driver Deanna Pruitt of Coal Grove said that her favorite part of the job was the people.

Pruitt said she enjoyed meeting new people and talking to them. Pruitt drives from the center to Coal Grove and to Waterloo on Wednesday.

"I have one client that is getting ready to turn 100. She's a sweetheart," Pruitt said.