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About Croton Caring
Croton Caring was formed in 1981 with the mission to enlist the resources of the community to help the frail, elderly, homebound and families in need of temporary assistance, enabling them to maintain their independence and dignity. Croton Caring is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a thirteen-person Board of Directors, a part-time Executive Director (who focuses exclusively on programing) and more than 100 dedicated volunteers.
Croton Caring’s programs and services address the changing demographic and needs of all Croton residents, including initiatives focused on children and families and to address issues facing senior citizens (physical limitations, economic needs due to fixed incomes and social isolation). Recent Croton Caring programs include:
Senior Citizens: We enrich the lives of more than 200 Croton seniors through regular outreach and social interactions, critically important to those who are isolated from the community due to financial, physical or other limitations.
Medical Transportation – We provide free, round-trip rides to medical appointments within a 15-mile radius of Croton by pairing volunteers with Croton seniors who have no other means of transportation available. In a typical year, we provide more than 200 round-trip rides. See our Medical Transportation Page.
Holiday Meals – We deliver complete meals on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and St. Patrick’s Day to seniors who are isolated and/or unable to spend the holiday with friends and family.
Monthly Luncheons and Breakfasts and Small Group Meals – We provide nine monthly luncheons (October through June), six monthly breakfasts at the Croton Diner (April through September) and three pizza lunches at Pronto Restaurant (June through August).
Monthly Correspondence and Quarterly Check-in Calls – We send a monthly mailing to our senior members informing them of upcoming programs and providing them with information regarding relevant programs and services offered by other local organizations, and our Board members call each of our senior members quarterly, to check in, inform them of upcoming events and determine what assistance they may need.
Special Events – We partner with the Croton Rotary Club for a BBQ at Senasqua Park and St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church for an Afternoon Tea.
Intergenerational Programs to Keep Seniors Connected to the Community
Letters to Seniors – We send uplifting notes and cards prepared by Croton students to our senior citizen members, many of whom continue their pen pal relationship.
Seniors Cheering Seniors – We arrange for Croton senior citizens to send words of encouragement to Croton-Harmon High School graduates. The notes are made into a video by the Croton School District and shared with the students.
Senior Birthday Club – We mail each of our seniors birthday, holiday and National Senior Citizen’s Day cards created by Croton students. We also deliver a bouquet of flowers donated by Upper Village Blooms, a student- made card and a homemade baked treat to our seniors during their birthday month.
National Senior Citizens’ Day and Holiday Deliveries – Students deliver gift bags containing a student-made greeting card, a treat from local bakery, and a craft created by Croton students to our senior citizens in honor of National Senior Citizens’ Day (August) and in celebration of the Winter Holidays (December) and Spring Holidays (April).
“Senior Prom” – We partner with the Croton School District to provide intergenerational events for our seniors, including our “Senior Prom” – a dinner/dance for our seniors, staffed by Croton students and catered by local Croton restaurants.
“Dinner and a Movie” – We hold indoor or outdoor drive-in-type movie events complete with dinner catered by local Croton restaurants and complete with movie snacks.
“Bagels and Bingo” – We sponsor a student-run Bingo tournament complete with breakfast and prizes from local Croton businesses three times per year.
“A Slice of Art: Pizza and Painting” and “Painting Pottery and Pizza – We hold instructor lead art classes for our seniors that includes a pre-painting pizza lunch.