Correspondent photo / Sean Barron Dom Bailey, 16, a South Range High School sophomore, places a box of Easter meals into the trunk of a sport utility vehicle as part of a gathering Friday at the Austintown Senior Center, from where food was delivered to mostly senior citizens who are homebound.

AUSTINTOWN — When it comes to his driving motivation for helping older, less fortunate people, Bruce Wolf’s words were perhaps as light as the box he carried.

“I just want to help,” Bruce, 13, of North Jackson, said. “It makes me feel helpful.”

The teen was among the volunteers who took boxes, each of which contained four Easter meals, to vehicles that delivered the items to many homebound Mahoning County senior citizens during an event Friday at the Austintown Senior Center, 112 Westchester Drive. The one-hour gathering was aimed at making Sunday’s holiday brighter for many of those who have difficulty leaving their homes, or are unable to do so.

For his part, Bruce intends to spend Sunday engaging in an Easter egg hunt at his home, then visit his grandparents, he added.

An estimated 260 traditional meals consisting of ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, a roll and a chocolate Easter bunny were prepared, boxed and delivered to people mainly 60 and older who are homebound, Paige Fortner, the Senior Support Action Group’s program manager, noted. Other recipients are under age 60 but struggle with various challenges, she said.

“The majority of them are 60 and older and unable to leave their houses,” largely because of a lack of transportation, Fortner said, adding, “The idea is to make the individual feel seen and know that we recognize them as part of our community.”

The thrust behind Friday’s gathering also was to help those who are homebound feel less alone and isolated — both of which were magnified for many people during the COVID-19 pandemic, she explained.

The nonprofit, volunteer-based Senior Support Action Group, established in 2020 in response to the health crisis, serves senior citizens who are homebound via providing companionship as well as transportation to medical appointments and the local grocery store, Fortner said.

Also happy to pitch in Friday was Dom Bailey, 16, a South Range High School sophomore. He was among the eight or nine members of Greenford Lutheran Church on South Range Road who volunteered to handle the boxes.

“I’m just helping people out in the community,” Dom said.

“The kids love doing it; the kids enjoy interacting with the seniors,” Alisha Taylor, a Greenford Lutheran Church member, said.

In addition, she and fellow church members participate in a similar effort with the Senior Support Action Group at Thanksgiving to add holiday cheer to those receiving meals for that holiday, Taylor added.

For Friday’s food giveaway, the action group had received referrals from local agencies that included the Mahoning-Youngstown Community Action Partnership, Adult Protective Services, Easter Seals of Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana Counties and Direction Home of Eastern Ohio, all of which work with senior citizens, Fortner noted.