Over the years, Project Open Hand has built a caring community through nutritious meals for seniors, people living with disabilities and our neighbors fighting critical illness. Clients, who access our grocery services, come once a week and are greeted warmly by familiar faces. Our delivery clients can count on a friendly smile delivered along with their meals with love. Seniors and people living with disabilities develop strong bonds with other guests, staff, and volunteers when they share a daily meal at one of 22 dining halls in the city.
As clients of our Wellness Program become seniors, we strive to provide them with tools to prevent loneliness and isolation by encouraging them to access our dining rooms.
Joe, our dedicated Wellness Programs Receptionist of 12 years, goes above and beyond to ensure that this transition is smooth and fun for our clients. On a weekly basis, Joe invites a couple of Wellness clients that are eligible for our Senior and NSAD dining rooms to join him for lunch at a senior site that suits their needs. He meets them at our Grocery Center and makes the trip out with them so they can familiarize themselves with the route and feel confident in getting there on their own.
This past week, Joe took Celeste, Project Open Hand client of 20 years, to eat a delicious meal of salmon, wild rice, and sweet potatoes at our charming Francis of Assisi meal site. They had a lovely time!
Thank you, Joe, for all that you do!