On November 19, the Rotary Club of Castro Valley personally packed and delivered Thanksgiving Lunch Bags to seniors at the Kenneth Aitken Senior Center in Castro Valley. In conjunction with Spectrum’s Sandwich program, these special lunch bags contained hand sanitizer, 5-pack washable/reusable face masks, a puzzle book and pen, an apple, wrapped candy, trail mix and applesauce! Castro Valley Rotarian Carol Bigelow coordinated the event with HARD staff, Daniela Keiffer (Senior Program Supervisor) and Jennifer Tibbetts (Coordinator of Senior Center) with Castro Valley Rotarians Ceta Dochterman, Lytrel Carter, Aaron Lewis, Margie Ramos and Dan Willits assisting with the distribution.
Pictured (left to right): Rotarians Carol Bigelow, Ceta Dochterman, Lytrel Carter, Margie Ramos and Aaron Lewis
Photo by Rotarian Dan Willits
Photo by Rotarian Dan Willits
Even though the event was outdoors, everyone was masked, wearing gloves and maintaining proper social distance. The recipients simply drove up to the Senior Center at the top of Redwood Road, entered the parking lot of the Senior Center, and the food and goodies were handed to them through the car window. This was a very simple event, but had an outsized impact on the people. No car was rushed through the process.
Observing the presentation of each Thanksgiving Lunch Bag, Rotarian Carol Bigelow captured the moment perfectly: "They didn't only come for the food. They came for the human interactions, and we were thrilled to give them that."
Observing the presentation of each Thanksgiving Lunch Bag, Rotarian Carol Bigelow captured the moment perfectly: "They didn't only come for the food. They came for the human interactions, and we were thrilled to give them that."