Family Centers hosted a tea party and social hour for participants and volunteers of Friendly Visitors and Friendly Callers programs on Wednesday, October 12th.  The event took place at the Greenwich Boat and Yacht Club on Grass Island in Greenwich.

Earlier this year, the Department of Social Services for the Town of Greenwich outsourced the Friendly Visitor program to Family Centers.  The program matches community volunteers with senior citizens who are at risk of becoming homebound or isolated.  Visitor Maggie Klumpp has visited with a number of seniors over her 30 year history with the program.  At the tea, she doted on her friend, Meg King.  Nara Ragone had spent the previous two weeks planning what to wear and was thrilled to be joined by her visitor Liesbeth Carballo and her young son.  Another long time visitor Betsy Underhill attended with her friend, Edith Samuelson, who kept the table laughing with her wry sense of humor. Many participants in the program voiced appreciation for their visitor and agreed it was special to enjoy an outing with them.

Like the Friendly Visitor program, Family Centers' Friendly Caller program matches seniors with volunteers for one-to-one visits, but the friendly conversations occur over the telephone. Eleanor Pendergast has called Helen Haviland for over 8 years.  They finally met at the tea where they found communication in person as easy as it had been over the phone. They and everyone else were happy to be together and the camaraderie in the room was palpable.

Both services are components of Family Centers' Friendly Connections program.  When combined with Friendly Connections' conference call groups and classes program, the different elements provide a wide continuum of services for senior citizens in the Greenwich community.

A United Way partner agency, Family Centers is a private, non-profit organization offering education and counseling to children, adults and families in Fairfield County.  For additional information about Friendly Connections and its many offerings, call 661-8841

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