Local racers happy to make birthday cake house calls
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By KEVIN STOTT
VIEW STAFF WRITER.
Local race car drivers Jace Meier, Dustin Ash and Travis Swalwell delivered birthday cakes to homebound seniors in Las Vegas on June 28 who are clients of Meals on Wheels, a service of Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada.
Meier, a 17-year-old native of Las Vegas now in his fourth season of competitive racing, spearheaded the program and hopes to make it an ongoing event.
"It actually just started because I was baptized Catholic and so we were very involved in Our Lady of Las Vegas (Church)," he said. "That's where I went to school and was a member of their church for years and we just sort of developed a relationship with Catholic Charities, and so the opportunity came up and we jumped right on it. It's obviously a great thing to do and it's different than most charity events."
Meier, who won the USAC Ford Focus Midget event at Altamont Motorsports Park in Tracy, Calif., splits his time between the USAC and NASCAR Late Model series. Also the class president and a soon-to-be-senior at Spring Valley High School, Meier said he realizes there are a number of elderly individuals all alone across Southern Nevada who have birthdays that no one would celebrate if not for the program.
"It's fun for them. It's only once a year that they get to celebrate their birthday and probably, if it weren't for this Meals on Wheels deal, they probably wouldn't get to celebrate it at all," Meier said. "So for us to go have fun with them and sit down with them and talk with them and give them a birthday cake and make them feel a little bit better, you know, it's a cool deal."
Ash, 18, is a Cimarron-Memorial High School student and teammate of Meier's at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway's Bullring. Ash won his first NASCAR Super Late Models race on June 4 and dedicated the win to his friend and late racer Spencer Clark.
Swalwell, 21, of North Las Vegas, notched his first NASCAR Super Late Models win at the Bullring last August.
Meier, Ash and Swalwell wore their racing uniforms while delivering the cakes. The trio were escorted by their pace car and Pit Boss, the official mascot of the LVMS.
Meier said the faces of the recipients spoke volumes.
"It was heartwarming seeing the faces of homebound elders as we walked through the door," said Meier, a graduate of the famed Rapport Leadership International Program. "The community is a big supporter of the racers at the Bullring and we wanted to give something back. Meals on Wheels is a great program and the three of us had fun delivering surprise birthday greetings to these area seniors."
Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada's Meals on Wheels provides seven nutritious, home-delivered frozen meals each week to 1,200 low-income, homebound seniors ages 60 years and up. The focus of the program is to help seniors stay healthy and maintain independence.
In addition, volunteers deliver a cake on a weekly basis to seniors celebrating a birthday. The Meals on Wheels drivers also make health and welfare checks on the clients and deliver more than 430,000 meals annually.
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