CRANFORD, NJ — On Wednesday, Sept. 21, residents of Atria Cranford celebrated World Gratitude Day to show their appreciation to local police, fire and emergency squad members. They took a bus to each station to deliver bags of candy and personally thank them for all they do to help the community. In addition, they also donated blankets to the Veteran’s Home of Menlo Park to further express their gratitude.
“Gratitude is a way of being, hard won through years, or even decades of learning and life experience,” Atria Public Relations Manager Ben Atkins told LocalSource in an email. “There is wisdom in gratitude, and we witness it daily with the more than 21,000 seniors nationwide who call one of our communities home. Older adults know, maybe better than anyone, how to experience and express gratitude. On Sept. 21, World Gratitude Day, residents from Atria Senior Living communities across the country will venture out into their towns and cities to express appreciation to others under the banner, ‘Go Grateful.’ The goal: to top 25,000 expressions of gratitude.”
“The Cranford Police Department was delighted to be visited by the residents and staff of the Atria,” Cranford Police Capt. Guy Patterson told LocalSource in an email, “Officers were very happy to meet some of the residents and get to spend a bit of time with them. The care packages were very thoughtful and didn’t last long! It’s always more than appreciated when members of our community go out of their way to put a smile on our faces. We posted a photo of the meeting on our social media.”
“The day was marvelous,” Gloria Latherow of Atria told LocalSource on the phone. “It brought back so many memories of when I was eight years old and moved across the street from the Rahway Fire Department. I got to know the squad, and my family was so impressed by them that six of my family members became firefighters. I’m thankful to Jaye Shear of Atria for organizing the event.”
“As a former resident of Brooklyn, I didn’t know much about the jobs of police or firefighters,” Mary Frigand of Atria told LocalSource on the phone. “I learned a lot at Atria. The trip was great, and I worked on preparing the bags of candy we brought to the police and firefighters. The candies we chose to include each had a special meaning and it was a lot of fun. The police were so nice and we took photos with the firefighters. They were so appreciative. It was a great afternoon. We went to the Veteran’s Home to donate blankets to over 300 veterans. We played music and veterans from Atria came to talk to us about their experiences.”
“I loved celebrating World Gratitude Day,” Joan Bull of Atria told LocalSource. “The fire department was very appreciative and took photos with us. They looked gorgeous! We met gentlemen from Atria at the veteran’s home. I’m thankful to Jaye for taking us for ice cream after the event. That was a special treat that came as a surprise.”