Since 1992
Print and digital marketing
By Linda Hildonen,
Marketing associate at Schooner Estates Senior Living Community
We often talk about how to keep the holiday spirit alive throughout the year, but it’s not always easy to do. Too often our best intentions begin to fade as we take down the tree or pack away the decorations. By the time January rolls around, we’ve moved on to thoughts of New Year’s resolutions, self-improvement and tax returns. We understand the importance of gratefulness, generosity and goodwill toward our common man, but how can we keep it at the forefront of our mind throughout the year?
Ann Anderson may have found a way to do just that. At 88 years of age, she spends much of her time throughout the year knitting slippers and hats. When the holiday season comes around, she donates her work to those who can appreciate them. In the past, she has donated her gifts to the employees of the town of Oxford and to servicemen stationed in Afghanistan.
This year, she wanted to choose a charity based in her new home of Lewiston-Auburn, where she recently moved to Schooner Estates Senior Living Community. She brought four boxes of slippers and hats to the Trinity Jubilee Center, a nonprofit working to help those in need of food, shelter and warmth in the area.
“It takes a great while,” she said, talking about the knitting that she completes all year long. “I tell you one thing: It does keep me out of trouble and my mind occupied. I don’t concentrate on the little things. Nonconsequential. Really, I am so fortunate. I think so many of us are, and we just don’t realize it.”
Ann said that her grandparents, as well as her husband’s parents, were immigrants, explaining that this helped her to understand how little some people start out with in life. She also spoke about an event, early on in her marriage, which shaped her understanding of community.
“We had one little boy at the time. I was seven months pregnant. I came down with polio.” The town of Andover, Mass., where Ann was living at the time, was unable to allow her into the hospital there, and she was sent, instead, to Boston. She ultimately had to contract with a private company for medical help during her recovery.
“We depend on our community. Where would I have been if there had not been someone in the community, or some business who could help me out?”
Ann’s life experiences have kept her humble and community-minded, and she stresses the importance of giving, even in the littlest ways.
“Too often, we think about a gift, and it’s immediately ‘Well, let’s see now, what can I afford?’ You know what you can afford? That smile. A smile does not cost you one penny.”
For other seniors, she offers this advice on giving back. “For those years when we maybe can’t get around so much, just think of your talents, and there’s something that you can do. Even answering a phone. A happy ‘Hello, good morning,’ as a volunteer.”
If Ann’s goal is to use her talents and great attitude as a way to help and inspire others, she’s definitely meeting it. We’ll keep her in our thoughts as inspiration the whole year round.
