Quilters serve up handcrafted gifts for delivery with Meals on Wheels

Rosanna Worden Hawker, Sandy Jeapes, Colleen Kelly and Teresa Shephard from Community Care, with Janet Reader Day, Colleen Young and Marianne Sanders showing some of the placemats to be delivered this month.

Thanks to volunteers with the Prince Edward County Quilters’ Guild, seniors will be served up delightful hand-crafted placemats with their Meals on Wheels this month.

Prince Edward County Community Care co-ordinator Teresa Shephard said this most recent donation from the quilter’s group is a loving example of partnerships in the County. The delivery of placemats each Christmas has been part of a long-standing show of community support for the Meals on Wheels program by the members of the quilter’s guild.

“This is a unique example of how the citizens of the County of Prince Edward work together to support one another,” she said.

Shephard said each placemat is touched by at least three volunteers – the person who creates it, the volunteer who carefully adds a bow and note, and the volunteer who delivers this special gift and hands it to the senior.

Recipients are seniors who receivie a delivery of hot or frozen Meals on Wheels. Community Care volunteers deliver meals from Consecon to Cherry Valley, from Rossmore to Long Point and places in between.

Dozens of placemats have been created and donated over the years. Many recipients tell Community Care staff the placemats are used throughout the year to brighten their home.

The Prince Edward County Community Care for Seniors Association also offers services such as transportation to medical appointments, noon-time dinners for seniors, foot care, help with forms, respite, home maintenance including snow shovelling, rural route reassurance and telephone reassurance programs.

The agency is partly funded by the Ministry of Health & Long-Term Care through the Local Health Integration Network and supported by donations and community fundraising efforts, such as Community Care’s Thrift Shop at 153 Main Street. The Community Care office is located at 74 King St., in Picton. For more information about programs and services, call Community Care at 613-476-7493 or visit www.communitycareforseniors.org