Happy Thanksgiving everyone! If you’ve met me in person, you’ve probably figured out that I like good food (good thing I work at a senior center!), so Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Back when I was studying music in Canada, my family was delighted to learn that Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving in October, so that meant we’d get not one, but TWO Thanksgivings each year…
I’d say many lunches & events at Bugbee have a lot in common with Thanksgiving – a chance to get together with friends and family. What are you thankful for this year? I’m thankful that Bugbee has got such an amazing crew of staff and volunteers. I’m also thankful the Bugbee seniors have so much character and personality too, sometimes when I leave work my face hurts from laughing so much.
And of course, I am grateful for Bugbee donors! As many of you are aware it’s a big fundraising year for us as we’re trying to catch up with some recent cuts to state funding for the nutrition program. We appreciate the support so far this year, including two large gifts from the Byrne Foundation and from Dartmouth Health, as well as gifts from Mascoma Bank and Claremont Savings Bank. I hope many more of you will consider contributing to the cause – every dollar counts. These donations have an impact as Bugbee welcomes more and more seniors into the community, while funding from the state struggles to keep up.
Regardless of whether you can donate this year, I hope you’ll swing by to enjoy lunch or some activities. Everyone is welcome here and that will never change. You’re all such an important part of making this place what it is. There are too many examples to count of people looking after each other and being kind, so let’s give thanks for the community this month. There ain’t any place quite like Bugbee.
Mark Bradley
Executive Director