Age-Friendly Saco receives first Beacon Community Award. Courtesy photo/Andrew Dickinson, City of Saco

SACO — The Beacon Community Award recognizes local organizations that foster bright and inclusive spaces to actively engage their community members. Age-Friendly Saco has embodied these values with their volunteer efforts to assist the residents of Saco experiencing food insecurity issues as well as social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s why this organization is the first to receive the Beacon Community Award.

Fifty Age-Friendly volunteers worked with the Saco Food Pantry to deliver food boxes. They also worked with the Saco Parks and Recreation Department in support of their restaurant program to provide meals to anyone wanting a hot meal during the dark days of the pandemic. Volunteers partnered with the Ferry Beach Retreat and Conference Center to provide 300 home delivered meals for both Thanksgiving as well as Valentine’s Day. These efforts amounted to over 300 food boxes delivered, 600 prepared meals delivered to homes and over 5,000 Farmers to Food Boxes distributed in the community.

To support these efforts, Age-Friendly Saco applied for and received $26,000 in grant funds and raised $6,000 in community funds. The organization determined the best uses of these funds by calling over 2,500 Saco residents and assessing their individual needs.

“We are thrilled to see Age-Friendly Saco recognized with the Beacon Community Award,” said AARP Maine State Director Noël Bonam. “The past 22 months have been challenging, especially for Maine’s seniors, but Age-Friendly Saco’s tireless work has made a huge impact — keeping spirits up, as well as keeping people fed and safe. They are truly an inspiration to the rest of Maine’s Age-Friendly communities.”

Age-Friendly Saco also provided their older residents with intergenerational avenues of connection to combat social isolation during the pandemic. Partnering with Thornton Academy, students created 500 handmade Valentine cards and helped fill and deliver over 100 sand buckets to guard against the icy winter. The organization also initiated a program known as HandyHelpers to provide their older residents much needed help with small home repairs and learning how to navigate new technology to stay connected with friends and family while staying safe from COVID-19.

In response to the award, Jean Saunders, director of Age-Friendly Saco said, “The team at AgeFriendly Saco is deeply honored to be the first community chosen for the Beacon Community Award. The mission of Age-Friendly Saco is to make Saco a ‘A Community for a Lifetime.’ I believe the work done by our dedicated volunteers, especially during these past difficult months of the pandemic, demonstrates our commitment to helping our residents stay in their homes and in their community by helping them access services that empower them to remain in and engaged in their community.”