TULSA, Okla. — Two-hundred volunteers and their families spent time delivering Thanksgiving dinners to homebound neighbors across the Tulsa area Thursday morning.

“A bunch of devoted volunteers who are taking the initiative to deliver a hot meal to almost 1,100 homebound individuals who may not have a traditional Thanksgiving Celebration,” Jay Betz, President and CEO of Meals on Wheels of Metro Tulsa noted.

FOX23 News followed retired nurse Pat Stevens as she delivered hot meals to the homebound on Thanksgiving. As we quickly discovered, the volunteer work she does is about more than just providing food.

For 72-year-old retired nurse Pat Stevens, it’s one hot Thanksgiving meal, one step at a time.

Stevens has been knocking on doors, as a Meals on Wheels of metro Tulsa volunteer, for 10 years.

“There you are my dear,” she said while dropping off a dinner at her first stop on Thursday. “You’re welcome, you have a good Thanksgiving.”

Stevens started volunteering while working as a home hospice nurse towards the end of her nursing career.

“I would take my lunch hour and go deliver my meals,” she explained.

We asked her why she does this type of work in retirement:

“Just to give back, from my heart,” she said. She said providing a nutritious meal is also helpful.

By the time we caught up with her on her route Thursday morning, she had already been to the gym.

While the meals she delivers are nutritious, Stevens said it’s also about connection:

“We’re such a spread out community, a lot of people don’t even have anyone here in Tulsa…and so we’re like the only ones they see,” she said. “I think it’s rewarding for them and for me.”

Stevens’ Thanksgiving Day route is the same as her weekly route with clients and family members she knows, like Elviz Tores, who came out to save her from having to climb more stairs.

“This means a lot for my wife, dropping off Meals on Wheels to bring her her food” he said.

We asked Stevens, whose devoted her entire life to caring for others, how much longer she plans to continue doing this:

“I tell everyone I’m on a 20-year-plan,” she said, “So, I’ve got till 92 and then I’m done. So till my knees and body give out on me, probably.”

To learn more about volunteer opportunities with Meals on Wheels of Metro Tulsa, click HERE.