Carolyn Landgrebe, left, and Geraldine Tyler hug outside Tyler’s home in south Lawrence. Landgrebe has been delivering Meals on Wheels to Tyler and her husband for several years. Landgrebe has been honored with the Sertoma Club’s Service to Mankind Award.

If you’ve ever thought there just isn’t enough time in the day, then you haven’t met Carolyn Landgrebe.

The 71-year-old grandmother of five somehow finds time to volunteer five days a week delivering meals for Meals on Wheels, takes home-baked goods to Presbyterian Manor residents and visits daily with senior citizens who have no family in town.

She also tutors students at Prairie Park School who are having difficulty reading and volunteers at LINK. And if that weren’t enough, she’s also donated more than 20 gallons of blood in her lifetime.

“I guess I’ve learned over the years that it’s more important to give to others than to dust the house,” Landgrebe said. “When it’s something you enjoy doing and it will make a difference in somebody else’s life, it’s worth making time.”

From the looks of her immaculate house, she also finds time to fit the dusting in, too.

Landgrebe was recently honored for her volunteer work by the Lawrence Sertoma Club. The group surprised her by presenting her with the Service to Mankind Award last month. The award is the highest honor given to a nonmember of the club.

“Oh, it was really quite a surprise,” Landgrebe said. “I had no idea. You don’t do these things to expect to be recognized.”

In fact, the attention seems to make Landgrebe a little uncomfortable. Every day, she quietly goes about her volunteer work. She’s been a driver for Meals on Wheels since 1970.

“She’s been fabulous,” Meals on Wheels Executive Director Kim Culliss said. “She’s a great supporter of ours.”

But her real passion has always been teaching children how to read. Landgrebe is a retired first grade teacher and was a longtime reading specialist with the Lawrence school district.

Affectionately referred to as “the reading lady,” Landgrebe started the home lending library program at both Riverside and New York schools, securing more than $37,000 in grants to purchase books for the program.

She continues to help children with what she considers the most important skill in life.

“If you can’t read, you can’t do anything,” Landgrebe said.

She hopes her volunteer work will inspire others.

“You know, we all have different gifts, and everyone can volunteer to do something to help others,” Landgrebe said. “I just would like to encourage everybody to do that because you will be rewarded much more than the people to whom you’re serving.”