Spring and kindness were in the air at Omni

GUILDERLAND — The 16th Annual Italian Night at the Omni was held on Saturday, April 1. The event was sponsored by Community Caregivers, a not-for-profit organization based in Guilderland.

Over 50 residents of the Omni Senior Living Community on Carman Road in Guilderland enjoyed a complimentary three-course Italian dinner, served by several students from the Guilderland High School Key Club. Staff members from the Caregivers’ office and other volunteers assisted with the food preparation and the serving of the meal.     

This year’s theme was “Spring is in the Air.” The Omni community room was decorated with colorful banners, and each table had a vase of daffodils to brighten everyone’s spirits. After the meal, Omni residents took the flowers back to their rooms.

The evening began with the introduction of Mary Therriault, one of the co-founders who started the Community Caregivers organization in Altamont in 1994. She welcomed the seniors and talked about the types of services the organization offers that might benefit them, as well as ways they could get involved, such as serving as volunteers.

Community Caregivers, located at 2021 Western Ave. in Guilderland, provides non-medical services to Albany County residents by matching local volunteers with nearby clients.

After dessert was served, the seniors waited in excited anticipation to hear if their names were called out to receive one of the many raffle prizes generously donated by area businesses. A special moment for all was to have the prize handed out by Amelie Ribesse, an exchange student from Belgium who attends Guilderland High School.

We would like to acknowledge the efforts of the 13 volunteers who participated, with a special thank-you to Key Club students Victoria Nemeth and Kayleigh Chamberlain, as well as Amelie Ribesse.

Staff members from the Caregivers’ office who helped coordinate the event and prepared portions of the meal, included Mary Morrison and Petra Malitz.  Also involved were Nancy Griffith, Mary Therriault, Tom Morrison, Sandra, Mary DeAngelis, and Nellie and Greg Goutos.

Special recognition is due to Mary McGann, the Omni resident who has helped as the on-site coordinator for the event for the past several years.

Much of the food for the dinner was generously donated by area restaurants. We especially acknowledge The 99 Restaurant on Wolf Road for its ongoing support. Also, thank you to Bountiful Bread and to Stewart’s for their contributions.

Raffle prizes were donated by these local businesses: Carman Wine & Liquor, Robinson’s Hardware, Candy Kraft, The Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza, Pizza Gram Plus, Marotta’s Towne Pizza, Bamboo Chinese Restaurant, The 99 Restaurant, Price Chopper/Market 32, Hannaford, and The Altamont Enterprise.

For more information about Community Caregivers, please contact the office at (518) 456-2898, or online at communitycaregivers.org.

Editor’s note: Greg Goutos is a Community Caregivers volunteer.