HARWICH – Despite challenges imposed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Potted Plants for Seniors, Inc. has adapted and grown to spread positivity to Cape Cod’s older residents and veterans.
Founder and President for the organization, Sarah Dennis, said that this year—the organization’s inaugural season—they performed over 12,000 deliveries of decorated potted plants to seniors.
The organization also provided other services related to improving the lives of older residents, including being brought on with Cape Cod Veterans to maintain the Veterans Parks and Memorial on Cape.
Merrill Park in West Dennis was one location that received significant clean up work from the organization, which will be back in spring and summer to finish the job.
Other projects include adding green spaces for seniors to enjoy across Cape.
“The other thing we really focused on this past spring and summer was starting our mission with putting in handicap accessible gardens and parks into the nursing homes, long-term care facilities, assisted living, senior centers and councils on aging,” said Dennis.
The first of these projects was at South Dennis Healthcare, which is formally Eagle Pond, which will be finished in the spring of 2021.
Dennis said that it is crucial for organizations like hers to help the community create better living conditions for the older demographic on cape.
“Most of them can’t travel or go anywhere so it’s nice to create an outdoor oasis for them to be able to go to. With the gardens, with the handicap accessible part of it, they’re raised up so they can sit on their wheelchairs or their walkers without having to bend over or standing up in order to easily maintain them,” said Dennis.
Dennis said that the organization has also been involved in other community initiatives, including delivering over 1000 cards from students of Monomoy Regional Middle School to Cape veterans during the holiday season.
Next year, she hopes to get the youth demographic involved in helping clean parks and memorials for veterans as well as help care for the gardens at the long-term care facilities.
Said that the involvement would also be an opportunity to connect the youth population with their senior and veteran neighbors in the community.
Making deliveries during the COVID-19 pandemic has not been without its challenges, said Dennis, especially given that the demographic that the organization targets is the most vulnerable part of the population to the virus.
Dennis said that they have been following strict safety guidelines and protocols all year that are the same as when the pandemic was at a peak in spring.
“Everything gets sanitized before it’s sent out. It’s in holding places. All of our pots are factory-packed, all of our soil that we’re using is in bags, all of our ribbon is packed,” said Dennis.
“Just better safe than sorry. We don’t want this wonderful program to hurt anybody.”
Potted Plants for Seniors is providing home deliveries and deliveries to complexes, councils on aging and senior centers.
Those who want a plant and present delivered can contact the organization at (508) 292-1671.
The organization is also available through their Potted Plants for Seniors Facebook page.
About Grady Culhane
