In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and her companions took a leap of faith followed by a long, arduous path before finally reaching the Emerald City.
The challenging journey bringing the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Intergenerational Center to fruition in Cambridge required similar unwavering conviction and steadfast dedication on behalf of long time CEO/Executive Director of Delmarva Community Services Inc., Dr. Santo A. Grande, and the DCS staff, now numbering 400.
Grande explained that the landmark Intergenerational Center aims to be a welcoming hub providing an array of vital programs and services to seniors, children, individuals with disabilities, vocational trainees, and the community at large under one roof. Designed specifically to address modern expectations of community services and facilities, the warm, inviting, and decidedly non-institutional facility seeks to foster enriching interactions among its clientele as well as the overall community, Grande noted.
Set to open this September, the 50,000 square foot two story Center will serve as focal point for DCS’ Chesapeake Grove Campus, which also plans 61 senior apartments.
Despite the ongoing pandemic, just two construction delays occurred (one due to weather and another from supply chain issues); overall, the project fueled 50 construction jobs.
The county seat of Dorchester, where nonprofit DCS has provided services to the ever-growing numbers of underserved community members since 1974, represents a communal mindset more deeply rooted in time-honored beliefs and practices and traditionally risk aversive to progressive change. But Grande, who has been at the helm guiding its tremendous growth since 1975, passionately believes that Cambridge, first on the Shore to host such a facility, will benefit greatly from and embrace it.
The initial seeds of the idea first germinated during a ‘field’ trip Grande undertook to China to explore senior care initiatives. While en route there, Grande met Sister Edna Lonergon, President of St. Anne’s Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who was also traveling there to share her unique innovative stateside expertise.
Providing an array of services to seniors and children together in the same building, St. Anne’s aims to foster mutually beneficial programs rather than those fixed within traditional age-separated models.
Intrigued, Grande led DCS’ leadership team on another trip, this time to Milwaukee, to witness first-hand the effectiveness of St. Anne’s intergenerational approach model. Impressed by the overall ideas and convinced by studies showing effective results, Grande began working to bring the overall program here to help the varied client communities DCS has helped since its founding in 1974, especially seniors.
Since the 1990s, Cambridge’s main senior facility has been operating in a repurposed canning factory on DCS property, located on protected Nanticoke River Watershed wetlands, needing upgrades and repairs.
A potential solution loomed within the extra 10 acres of the original parcel purchased by DCS housing its headquarters and transit terminal where Route 16 (Cambridge Beltway) meets Egypt Road. Initial steps began, but considerable logistical realities perpetually paused the timetable. According to Grande, it took over 10 years to achieve DNR licensing permits, plus additional time to mitigate the property in preparation for building.
Still, slow but steady progress ensued, and the Intergenerational Center received substantial funding from the Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Foundation, an international leader in senior, disabled, and at-risk population development, the George B. Todd Fund, honoring the late local businessman, and individual donations memorializing and honoring family members. (DCS continues to seek and welcomes all donations, large and small.)
The project’s ongoing development received “incredible support” from community leaders and elected officials, both locally and at the state level, Grande noted. Among those he mentioned specifically are former Cambridge city council member Sid Nor, Representatives Sheree Sample Hughes, Addie Eckardt, Johnny Mautz, and Chris Adams, and Governor Larry Hogan and Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford, and Comptroller Peter Franchot.
Grande also lauded the DCS staff and leadership as well as the nonprofit’s volunteer board president, retired area educator Bill Batson.
Andy Hollis, Talbot County Manager for the past 17 years, had worked briefly with DCS in 2010, rejoining in January 2021 as Deputy Director. He believes Grande deserves the lion’s share of the credit, for the project’s initial plan and unwavering steadfast commitment to seeing it through to completion.
Though initially impressed with the original idea, as time passed Hollis began to harbor some lingering doubts “that it would happen.” These days, strolling through the edifice nearing completion with Grande and DCS Program Manager Mary Handley, he exuded pride and unbridled enthusiasm about “the tremendous potential to provide innovative service this community so richly deserves,” he added.
Handley, too, voiced excitement at the prospect of providing enhanced opportunities in such aesthetically impressive and pleasing surroundings. While DCS already has an intergenerational walking group, she envisions seniors and youngsters gardening together, learning computer skills, and promoting joi de vive with Halloween costume parties.
Most important, though, is what Handley sees the Center providing the opportunity to realize “the need to be needed,” by both young and old, through mutual interaction.
Grande, Hollis, and Handley shared their anticipation while providing a guided walk through of the site’s already visible attributes which include elegant ceiling beams, walls adorned with serenely paint shades, and large, overhead soft lighting fixtures and many windows providing natural light throughout the building. The three took turns describing the soon to be filled in final touches, including roomy bathrooms and bathing suites, a soft padded exercise/therapy floor, and the commercial grade kitchen to be installed, making meals available to patrons and the public.
The food prep facilities, outdoor patios, and indoor open spaces will be available for community members to rent for weddings, family reunions, and other occasions. Organizations and groups can also reserve rooms for meetings and training sessions. Facility hours are also set to expand into the evenings and weekends.
Just off the entryway there’s a coffee bar/gathering room replete with comfy sofas and a fireplace. Further inside find a massage therapy room, a sanctuary space earmarked for meditation or bible study, and vibrant, secure daycare digs where little ones learn and play. Upstairs houses a computer lab, therapy and craft rooms, and a nurse’s station.
A green and airy atrium dotted with umbrella festooned meeting tables, where adults can mingle as supervised toddlers safely traverse treasured big wheels out of harm’s way. Encircling the room is a slowly rising ramp, encouraging gentle indoor exercise and dotted with resting areas, leading to second-floor balconies, one of which is bedecked by an imposing clock tower (dedicated by a community member to honor a departed loved one.)
Outside, amidst an idyllic woodsy setting, are play/exercise stations for kiddos plus others designed to help seniors’ hone balance and fitness. It’s a short stroll to the dedicated wellness center and aqua therapy pool. Sidewalks provide safe passage for feet young and old, and a sheltering portico protects those arriving and leaving public transit vehicles from weather. (Grande expressed hope for creating a bocce ball play area, as well, referencing his South Philadelphia Italian roots.)
Handley summed up how the Intergenerational Center will be a much-needed community crossroads, as well as a vital cornerstone for DCS’ ongoing mission of providing programs and services offering a sense of being healthy, of being understood, of being accepted, and of being needed.
For more information about the Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Intergenerational Center, Chesapeake Grove, and Delmarva Community Services, call 410-221-1900 or visit dcsdct.org and the group’s social media pages on Facebook, Twitter, and Linked In.
Debra Messick is a retired Dorchester County Public Library associate and lifelong freelance writer. A transplanted native Philadelphian, she has enjoyed residing in Cambridge MD since 1995.
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