Most people are still asleep when Joseph E. “Joey” Matthews starts his collection run Sunday mornings.

Now 64, the Richmond man has more than 35 miles to cover to pick up food, clothing and other items that will fill up his aging Dodge Grand Caravan and an equal distance to travel back to Richmond to deliver to people in need.

Mr. Matthews is the volunteer delivery connection for a small network of caring people like Cassandra Evans and Barbara Thomas who want to help others and count on him to pick up and distribute the items they collect free of charge. There are plenty of traditional outlets that this small volunteer network could use, ranging from the Salvation Army and Goodwill to food distribution groups like Blessing Warriors or Food Not Bombs. There are an astonishing number of people and organizations in the Richmond area engaged in people-helping initiatives. But Mr. Matthews, an easygoing, upbeat man who hands out compliments like Halloween candy, has gained their confidence. “I think they like a more personal touch,” he said.

He said he got involved distributing items about three years ago, and one thing has led to another. At first it was one day a week, but now he said he is on the road at least five days a week in response to calls from the volunteer network of 20 to 30 people.

The van he drives is a gift from an admirer who wanted to support his efforts, and it is not unusual for him to drive 70 to 100 miles. Somehow, even as gas prices have soared, he has been able to come up with the cash out of his own pocket or from donations to fuel the vehicle and keep going.

A graduate of J.R. Tucker High School and Virginia Commonwealth University, Mr. Matthews, a recovering addict, under- stands how much need exists.

Married, he has been down-and-out himself, reduced at times with his wife to largely living on the money he earned selling his blood plasma.

A former reporter for nearly 40 years for daily and weekly newspapers in the Richmond area, including the Free Press, Mr. Matthews is back on his feet and working for a rental car company.

For him, the volunteer work represents “a way to give back to the community” for the support he received in battling his challenges.

It is also therapeutic, which is the case with others in the network.

For example, Ms. Evans prepares at last 30 hot meals twice a week at her Ashland home, items like cheesy grits and biscuits and gravy, for Mr. Matthews to pick up and distribute.

She does so despite being the caretaker for her husband, who has been battling cancer, and her mother, who recently suffered a stroke. Mrs. Evans does her work under the banner of her informal ministry, Pass the Blessings On.

Other participants include Myra Adams of Atlee Outreach Ministries, who turned her Mechanicsville-area home into a collection center.

After her house overflows, she runs distribution days as she did recently at the Falling Creek Apartments. She also stacks up goods for Mr. Mathews to pack into his van on Sundays. On this day, he collects 11 boxes of neatly folded clothing as well as some household items.

Also among the givers supplying his van is Minister Melanie Vest Kenney, who collects and distributes food in Hanover County. Ms. Evans gets her supplies from Ms. Kenney, who operates the Come As You Are Ministry.

Mr. Matthews’connection with Ms. Ken- ney enables him to pick up multiple dozens of unsold breakfast sandwiches and donuts twice a week from the Ashland. On this Sunday, he packed up 11 milk cartons full of food items that WaWa would trash unless someone like Mr. Matthews was available to collect and redistribute them.

Fully loaded after making at least six collection stops this day, Mr. Matthews heads back to Richmond where he looks for people who might be able to use the food, clothing and other items packed into the van.

He pulls off the highway in the city’s East End and stops on the side of a grocery store where three men are sitting. He offers them items and drops off some of the food that he collected.

Nearby, he finds other men who are gathered informally. He then moves on to Nine Mile Road where he is a familiar face to several men who regularly sit on porches or in the yards of vacant houses near Creighton Court.

He heads to South Side to get to the Southwood Apartments off Hull Street, a major residential area for Latino residents. On the way, he calls a contact there to let her know to put the word out that he is on his way with “mucho, mucho” items.

“I know about 10 words of Spanish,” he chortled, but he still expects people to turn out. At Southwood, he first stops to offer items to a gathering of men and then heads to a lawn where he beeps his horn several times, stops and begins unloading the boxes and bags full of food and clothing.

Doors open and a small group of people come forward to check out the offerings. As most go through the clothing, one woman bags up all the WaWa sandwiches to take back to her apartment. “I haven’t had a working stove for a week,” she tells Mr. Matthews. “This will really help me out.”

And in a few minutes, there are mostly only empty boxes for him to collect and pack up and head home to get ready to go to church.

“Smiles all around,” he later reports on his Facebook page, “as grateful folks shared tons of food, clothing, housewares, toys and much more with our friends and neighbors in and around the city.”

He said he enjoys doing his part in an effort that brings him in contact “with some of the most selfless, caring, loving people. Sometimes, I have to pinch myself to believe that this is really happening.”