Senior Lookout
When a long-time car dealership closed recently in Ipswich, many residents were shocked. (The good news is that Don Sudbay, here in Gloucester, will take up the slack, offering service and sales to the former patrons of O'Keefe Chevrolet.) While, it is a private matter whether that dealership was in trouble before the economy went sour, it was clearly in trouble afterward. People were put out of work, and that always contributes to some level of fear that other businesses could be next.
That can of vegetables, or soup, or dog food that used to be a 13.2-ounce can has shrunk, in many cases, to a 12-ounce can (do they think we don't notice?), and often the price has gone up as well. As consumers spend more, but get less, at the supermarket, their insecurity about food and other goods being available or affordable grows.
So, it's no wonder that middle- and lower-income people are frightened to spend any extra cash. They are fearful about being able to keep their jobs, worried how they will get through the winter heating season, and watching their retirement savings shrink.
That does not bode well for local charities. Middle- and lower-income people, who give proportionately more of their income to charities than the wealthy, may be inclined to pull back and not give as much. Many think that charitable groups that want to continue to be able to provide desperately needed services need to get creative about how they solicit donations, and how they appeal to their donor bases. Maybe not.
On Oct. 23, for example, SeniorCare will hold its traditional Annual Fundraiser Breakfast from 6:30 to 11 a.m. at LobstaLand. The nice thing about such events is that the donor actually gets something in exchange for their donation (aside from just the knowledge that they have helped someone), and the business owner who donates the food, in this case LobstaLand, may attract some new business from the people who attend the breakfast and think that the food's really good (it is!).
Charities that provide donors with a way to give while getting, and an opportunity for a business to profit from the event, may have the right idea, even if the idea isn't new.
Many people want to give, but now need to minimize the impact on an already stretched budget. Maybe they can't eat out as much, but can have one of their eat-out breakfasts at LobstaLand on Oct. 23! Maybe they can eat ham and beans one Saturday night at church instead of at home. Perhaps if they were going to a game anyway, they could buy Red Sox or Pats tickets at a local Chamber of Commerce auction. They can wash the car at the local high school car wash. Things that people would have done anyway can provided much needed help to someone else, if they seek out chances to do them in conjunction with a charitable event. It's the proverbial "kill two birds with one stone."
The "Goings On" pages here at the Gloucester Daily Times are a great way to find local charity breakfasts, auctions, craft shows, and other activities that people can attend close to home and combine daily living with charity. (See you at the breakfast!)
Anne Springer is the public relations director of SeniorCare Inc., which serves Beverly, Essex, Gloucester, Hamilton, Ipswich, Manchester, Rockport, Topsfield and Wenham. Its mission is to provide and coordinate services to elders, enabling them to live independently and remain part of their community.
