Bakers make the holiday

MILFORD - Thanks to busy bakers, packers and wrappers, the lives of hundreds of local seniors were brightened by gifts delivered for Thanksgiving Day celebrations. Members of the Delaware Valley School District’s Educational Support Professionals (ESP) staff (bus drivers, cafeteria workers, custodians, instructional assistants, licensed health room nurses, maintenance, secretaries, traffic control), which sponsored the Thanksgiving Day event, expect their project to become an annual pre-holiday tradition. Two-hundred-and-fifty large clay pots were first decorated, lined with cellophane and filled with freshly baked cookies, over a week-long period. They were then delivered for Thanksgiving to 200 Pike County Office of the Aging Meals-On-Wheels recipients. Another 50 residents of Bon Secours Community Hospital’s St. Joseph’s Place recieved cookies, and 50 additional platters went to local nursing homes, including Twin Cedars, Belle Reve and Milford Convalescent Home. Fran Rosario, long-time bus driver for the district and president of the support professional’s union, suggested the “Cookie Share” idea at the first union meeting of the year. She received immediate support. Rosario said, “We wanted to come up with some ideas to get us more involved in community-minded projects. A lot is done for kids, so we thought we would do something for the seniors this time. The response was great.” She teared-up as she visualized seniors receiving their cookies. “Just imagine how this might feel to people who can’t cook anymore and who get Meals-On-Wheels. Do you know how many memories freshly baked cookies will bring back?”