Delmarva Community Services seniors hosted a preschool graduation for students in its daycare. Pictured left to right are Vanessa Scott and Arlene Moaney. DCS Senior Program Manager.
Seniors at DCS host bubbles day at its daycare. Pictured left to right are Mamie Short, Dorthea Johnson, and Lenora Mister.
Delmarva Riders Motorcycle Club donated $300 bed comforters to each DCS senior. Pictured are Guy Butz and Dorothy Jackson.
Delmarva Community Services Inc. (DCS) is a multi-service organization founded in 1974 that serves individuals with developmental disabilities, seniors, and individuals living in poverty, as well as provides childcare and transportation services. The interactions between the seniors and children who participate regularly at The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Intergenerational Center have bridged the generations while enriching the lives of area seniors.
After the pandemic, the DCS Intergenerational Center in Cambridge housed Dorchester County’s only senior center. Seniors who had been attending the now-closed DCS Senior Center in Hurlock were transported to Cambridge when it opened in 2022 and enjoyed it so much that they decided to stay at the Cambridge Center permanently.
“Seniors found the new building offered more services and activities, even though it is currently open only two days a week. The demand in Dorchester County for senior services is seeing significant growth. Our seniors want, and deserve, more than two days a week at the Senior Center, and those on our waiting list to attend the Senior Center deserve a place to get services. Therefore, we are now focusing on raising funds to provide for an extra operating day at the center,” states Andy Hollis, President/CEO of DCS.
The DCS Senior Center in Cambridge currently has 72 seniors, ages 60 to 97, with a long waiting list for other seniors to get in. The Center in Cambridge, which is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., would like to open on Wednesdays to help address the waiting list and to get more seniors engaged in Dorchester County. Seniors are transported from Hurlock, Federalsburg, Taylor’s Island, and Vienna using the Delmarva Community Transit buses.
Arlene Moaney is the Senior Program Manager at DCS and has been with the agency since 2017. Before that, she worked for 25 years at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore where she ran its Spina Bifida clinic. Originally from Talbot County, she returned to the Shore to take care of her mother who was ill. She comments, “The seniors who come here are home alone most of the time and they really come out of their shells after they participate with us here at the Center.”
“I want to get them out more and give them a hot meal and connect them to the resources they need. Reducing social isolation for our seniors is so important. That’s what we do here,” she adds.
The seniors who participate at the DCS Senior Center are given a homecooked breakfast and lunch, with hot meals prepared each day. They also can experience special groups and activities and have guest speakers each week. Activities include crafts, special music, dancing, singing, karaoke, Wii games, Tai Chi, and outings. Special programs are offered on nutrition and health issues and seniors can get their blood pressure and medications checked regularly by a nursing professional. The seniors who attend are 80 percent women and 20 percent men. Six of the seniors are veterans.
One of the unique aspects of the Senior Center is its involvement with the DCS Day Care Center on-site. Seniors do monthly intergenerational crafts with the children. In addition, seniors hosted the Center’s preschool graduation and provide “Bubble Day” once a month where they interact by blowing bubbles for the children in the daycare. A simple, but fun occasion for all involved.
The seniors have organized themselves into the “Clothespin Performers,” named after the activity Moaney did one Mother's Day where she strung string across from one side of the atrium to the other and had them attach papers with clothespins to the string saying what they did as a child. The seniors then had to guess which paper went with which senior. The Clothespin Performers also sponsored a fashion show this year. Other seniors formed a choir, the DCS Angels, who will perform on Senior Day at the Vienna Wesley United Methodist Church on October 20 from 9 to 10 a.m. This year, seniors are sponsoring a community coat drive where they collect new, and lightly used and cleaned coats for all ages. In addition, an outside garden is in the works for those wishing to grow plants and get their hands dirty.
“I want to be able to touch as many seniors as I can here. It would be wonderful to get additional financial support to provide more programming opportunities for these seniors. There is nothing better than a good field trip to get them out and about,” Moaney shares.
The community can support DCS Senior Center both through financial and physical donations. Emily’s Produce brings seniors at DCS extra produce and food products at the end of the season. Recently, the Delmarva Riders Motorcycle Club donated $300 bed comforters to each senior. Special thanks were also extended by Hollis to both Hebron Savings Bank and Bay Vanguard Bank for their generous donations to go toward the third day of operating the center, stating, “These banks are true community partners, and have helped us on our way to securing funds to open a third day.”
“The seniors here are so appreciative because they expect so little. The look on their faces, when we give them something or do something special for them, is priceless,” Moaney adds.
For more information about services or to donate to the DCS Senior Center, contact Hennie Hayden at 410-221-1900, extension 10, or visit https://www.dcsdct.org/. Donations can also be made online.
At DCS, the staff believes all people should be treated with respect. The services they provide should always embrace the highest integrity and quality. As advocates for their consumers, they assist all individuals towards self-sufficiency and independence.
