With most seniors forced to quarantine in their homes or the long-term care facility they live at, the ladies will unfortunately not be able to see their families on Mother’s Day.
“Normally for Mother’s Day we would buy sundaes from Dairy Queen and distribute them but because of COVID-19 we can’t do that this year,” Jewel Wiggins President of the Ladies Auxiliary for the Hastings Centennial Manor tells the MyBancroftNow.com newsroom. She says this year they reached out to Posies Flower and Fashion in Bancroft to purchase Carnations for the women but were surprised when the shop volunteered to give them the flowers at no cost. 69 Carnations were donated, which is enough for every female resident to have one for Sunday.
“I just did it because I was delighted that the ladies were going to get a flower,” the owner of Posies Dianne Newman says. “I said I would be happy to just give them to them.”
Wiggins says it was Activity Coordinator Nancy Mountney’s idea to get Carnations. “We thought it was a great idea,” Wiggins says.
“Our Manor Auxiliary usually host a birthday party in May and we were able to get gifts for that from the IDA at a discounted price,” Wiggins adds. She says the gifts will be handed out to all the residents that celebrate a birthday this month.
“It’s just the nice thing to do,” the IDA’s Manager Kathy says. She adds that they’ve been helping the Centennial Manor out with gifts for a few years now and wanted to do something extra due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Neuman says that it must be difficult for residents to be forced to self-isolate and be away from their families so she wanted to help put a smile on their faces.