Seniors across South County were greeted with a small surprise at their doorstep on Friday.
Members of South County TRIAD — a partnership between law enforcement, community organizations and seniors that aims to support and protect the senior community — and other community organizations delivered flowers and meal certificates to seniors in Deerfield, Sunderland, Whately and Conway on Friday. The unexpected treats came with meals delivered to them by the South County Senior Center.
“There’s so much negativity out there right now, between the virus and politics and in general,” explained Sharyn Paciorek, president of South County TRIAD. “This is something happy to talk about and lift our communities up a little bit.”
She said South County seniors are generally well-taken care of, between the senior center, women’s groups, community organizations and police departments that look out for them.
“The biggest problem, once you start talking to them, is they’re lonely,” she said. “Not everybody lives in the center of town; a lot of them are on the outskirts.”
That issue is exacerbated by the fact the Senior Center is closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.
Paciorek said the idea to surprise seniors with something a little different than their regularly scheduled meals came to her on a night when she couldn’t sleep.
“My thoughts were with our seniors” she said. “Dealing with seniors on a day-to-day basis, they’re lonely. We deliver food and goodies to them, and I wanted to do something different, something happy.”
She thought of doing flower arrangements, and began reaching out to community organizations she thought might want to get involved.
“It kind of took off from there,” she said. “(South Deerfield) Women’s Club members were just ecstatic to be able to help. They have parents; they know what it’s like.”
Marcia Brooks, an executive board member of the South Deerfield Women’s Club, said helping TRIAD organize baskets for seniors simply fit the club’s mission to contribute to the welfare of the community.
“It was (TRIAD’s) wonderful brainchild to do this,” she said. “They saw a need for it … and they reached out to us, and we were happy to oblige.”
Brooks said members reached out to local nurseries and stores, which donated flowers and potted plants.
“It really is a group effort by so many people,” she said. “So many women in the club have donated everything to put these baskets together.”
Paciorek said she couldn’t have pulled it off without the support of the TRIAD team, and each of community organizations that donated plants and flowers.
“We have quite a crew,” she said.
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 263. Twitter: @MaryEByrne