Senior Village at SaddleBrooke: Neighbors helping Neighbors

A dream, a vision, a reality

Sandy Morse

When two SaddleBrooke gentlemen got together several months ago and shared a couple of beers, the discussion turned toward the many needs that SaddleBrooke residents were now starting to face. Illness, surgery, disability, inability to drive and dealing with the death of a spouse were just some of the challenges they discussed. Both shared great concern as they acknowledged that the majority of folks will at some point face these same challenges. They both knew something needed to be done to help those in need —and so the Dream was born.

In further discussions, the two men envisioned a group of SaddleBrooke neighbors who would volunteer to assist these folks in need, neighbors helping neighbors, what a great concept! They believed that folks who needed a helping hand now and then could get this help from their neighbors. This would allow them to remain as independent as possible (with a little help from their friends), stay in the home they love and live a little longer in SaddleBrooke—and so the Vision was born.

So the two gentlemen became very busy and started researching other senior communities, for surely they thought other communities must share these same issues. And how right they were, for they discovered there is a National Village Network of neighbors helping neighbors, a bona fide organization that has been successfully operating in several communities, providing help to those in need. Shortly thereafter, The Senior Village of SaddleBrooke was incorporated and is now part of the national chapter—and so the Reality was born.

Unfortunately, one of these fine gentlemen did not live to see his dream become a reality and sadly Dick Fleming passed away before The Senior Village organization was incorporated. But his dream never faded as an amazing group of dedicated and determined volunteers continued to carry on his vision.

The Senior Village of SaddleBrooke currently provides the following non-medical services:

* Going My Way

* Helping Hands

* Friendly Contact

* Golder Ranch Lock Box Installation

The need is great as we have over 200 members and are growing daily. You can help by joining our amazing team of volunteers and/or becoming a patron and donating to our cause. Please help us keep the dream and vision of neighbors helping neighbors alive. Contact us at 314-1042 or go to our website at seniorvillagatsaddlebrooke.org.