Don Bamberg from the Mary Wade Home sent in these photos and this write-up:
The Mary Wade Home and the United Way of Greater New Haven joined forces for an amazing day of community connections with “Days of Caring”. Students from the Christopher Columbus Family Academy, of New Haven, joined residents and staff of Mary Wade for a day of gardening, arts and crafts and bingo.
United Way “Days of Caring” is an annual, week-long series of events where thousands of volunteers join hands and lend their muscle to improve local nonprofits, schools, towns and parks. “Days of Caring” projects range from reading to children to beautifying a play yard. Volunteer groups from workplaces, families, schools, and community and faith groups make it happen.
(In photo: Joyce Harris (left), member of the Board of Directors for the Mary Wade Home, works on the beautiful gardens in the Mary Wade courtyard with a student from the Christopher Columbus Family Academy.)
“This event is a great opportunity for the students to lend a helping hand here at Mary Wade,” said Melissa Chambrelli, Human Resource Manager at Proliance International, SHARE Committee. Chambrelli worked with the staff of Mary Wade paving the way for the students from the SHARE Committee, of the Christopher Columbus Family Academy, to spend the day with the residents and staff at Mary Wade. “It is truly a day to ‘live united’,” said Chambrelli.
“Our residents and staff really enjoy having the students here,” said Pat Stark, Recreation Director at Mary Wade. “All you see are big smiles on the faces of our residents. The really enjoy having them here”.