The Rotary Club of Wachusett Area is sponsoring Serving is the Heart of Rotary on Sunday, February 14, with a Grab & Go Lasagna Dinner for Wachusett-area seniors.
The meal is complimentary. However, reservations are required. They can be made by calling Holden Senior Center at 508-210-5570 during normal business hours.The deadline for registering is Friday, February 5. However, we encourage you to register early, as meals are limited.
We will distribute the meals to successful registrants on Sunday, February 14 at these three Senior Center locations:
- Holden Senior Center, 1130 Main St., Holden,
- West Boylston Senior Center, 120 Prescott St., West Boylston
- Sterling Senior Center, 36 Muddy Pond Rd., Sterling
Dinners will be prepared by the Manor Restaurant in West Boylston. Questions? Call the Holden Senior Center at 508-210-5570.
Thinking outside the box
The year 2020 was one of “thinking outside the box” for many of our Rotary clubs. COVID-19 has caused us to change how we do things, without losing our mission of “service above self." The Wachusett Area club has had to do just that with one of our favorite events.
Every December, for as long as we can remember, we have treated our senior citizens to a holiday breakfast. It was a day to look forward to, for seniors and Rotarians alike. Many groups became involved in this effort – from the young scout troops that created the lovely table decorations, to the high school choruses that filled the banquet hall with the sounds of the season. Rotarians and family members were involved in cooking and serving their elders. The hall was always a bustle of activity on that day as we served several hundred guests in 20 minutes or less. Unfortunately, with COVID-19, that type of celebration just couldn’t happen this year– at least, not in that way.
Our club's Senior Breakfast Committee, led by Richard Traina and Savvas Fotiadis, met and planned an alternate event. This Valentine’s Day, we will be hosting a drive-by event at three of our local Senior Centers. We will be “serving” a lasagna dinner for two - complete with chocolate-dipped strawberries and candies - that our seniors will bring home to enjoy. Savvas will be cooking the lasagna in the kitchen of his West Boylston restaurant, The Manor, enlisting the help of the club and their family members. Club members Jack Chandler and Tracy Gagnon will be leading their army of volunteers, to distribute the meals to the senior centers along with bags of treats put together by our West Boylston High School Interact Club. We will also be gifting cards made by several student groups, including the Life Skills Program at Wachusett High.
By our latest counts, we have about 430 senior citizens signed up for their Valentine’s Day meals. We are excited for this event, which has really brought together young and old in a wonderfully new way!
For more information, contact Wachusett Area Rotarians Brian Bullock at 508-259-2464 and Richard Traina at 978-422-7700.
For comments, questions or technical issues about using this online form, contact us at rotaryd7910@gmail.com.
For comments, questions or technical issues about using the Events calendar, contact us at rotaryd7910@gmail.com.