Photo provided Kevin Waltz is shown with Angie Goodwin with GreenTree as the two helped residents with meals during this week’s snowstorm.
A snowstorm didn’t stop the residents of GreenTree at Westwood from getting their dinner. When many staff members could not come for their shifts because of the weather, a team stepped up to the plate, literally, to ensure everyone received a meal during the snowstorm earlier this week.
Local resident Jenny Waltz owns Journey North Care Management who work with clients in home settings. While not affiliated with GreenTree, her team does take care of some clients there, she said.
As she and her husband were driving some of their caregivers to their home settings, her son and team member Mason Waltz informed her that only two people, business office manager Kim Bergeron and care partner Angie Goodwin, were able to come into GreenTree that day to work.
After finding that out, Waltz told Bergeron she would come up with a plan for dinner, and in the meantime Bergeron ordered pizza for lunch. That night, Waltz and her husband arrived with options of ham and beans or chicken casserole, in addition to salad, fruit, green beans, cheesy potatoes and two kinds of cake.
“Mealtime is really important to these guys. You know, that’s their social time so it means a lot to them. So, my husband and I just made a Walmart run and I went home and prepped,” Waltz said. “And then we came back and my husband and I took orders and served food with Kim and Mason and Angie and we all made it work. But that dining room was full, they were having a good time in the snowstorm anyway.”
Waltz said the residents were very grateful for the dinner, with one of them saying they hoped every day was a snow day if they got food like this. To her, she said it was not that big of a deal, but she did not want them to feel like they were forgotten.
“You know in this line of work, you can’t just not be there. So, somebody had to (be) and I was just really impressed with what the two employees from GreenTree were doing,” Waltz said. “I mean, that just really touched me that they were coming in and handling it all themselves from the business office to food and care. I just thought, ‘how can I help that?’”
Bergeron said she was not surprised with Waltz’s generosity, as they have worked together for a long time. She called the day a team effort and everyone did a great job pitching in, including her, Goodwin, Journey North and the residents as well.
“The residents were all very helpful,” Bergeron said. “They saw that we were struggling and they really were appreciative, they really enjoyed the meal… they love to eat well. I mean, they were excited to have Papa John’s pizza, and then when they found out Jenny was cooking, it was like, ‘oh my gosh, what did we do to deserve this?’ So, it was just overall, the day was awful but it turned out to be such a blessing for everyone.”
