August Moon Festival Aids Braintree Agency with Outreach

South Shore Elder Services was one of the vendors at the festival, offering information about the vast number of resources for elders and their families as well as caregivers. With long lines throughout most of the day, South Shore Elder’s booth experienced a record number of visits from festival attendees looking for more information about resources available for elders with regard to adult day centers, assisted living, caregiver programs, meal programs, health agencies, protective services, transportation and many other programs and services. The number of telephone inquiries at South Shore Elder Services’ main office doubled after the festival.

According to Edward Flynn, Executive Director of South Shore Elder Services, “We’re very pleased with the turnout. We feel that our presence at the festival was beneficial to a large number of people in the community and we were able to reach out to seniors and caregivers who otherwise may not know about our services. We serve 11 cities and towns on the South Shore and our primary goal is to reach out to elders, as well as those caring for elders, and make them aware of all the resources that are available to them.”

Frank Poon, Director of Asian Outreach at South Shore Elder Services and 2006 August Moon Festival Chair said, “This year’s event was the most successful festival in recent history.”

The event’s success was the result of hard work from QARI staff and more than 150 volunteers as well as the coordination and cooperation of everyone involved from students to elders, business people to city and state officials. And most importantly, the generosity of more than 100 sponsors.

Mayor Phelan noted, “We recognize this event as important to our community as all the other civic celebrations like First Night, Flag Day and the Christmas Parade.
The celebration of cultures is a strength that Quincy enjoys with such a diverse population. We are a stronger community because of the different perspectives of our population.”

“I cannot say enough thanks to all the people involved, and the people who participated in the event. Together we can make the next cultural event even better and more people can enjoy it,” said Poon.

He continued, “We heard from festival attendees, vendors, volunteers and city officials commenting on how the festival was the best ever and bigger than last year. Many were pleased to see such diversity. Others talked about how they were able to learn a lot more about community services available to them. Many look forward to next year.”

To speak with Frank Poon or for inquiries contact (781) 848-3910 (English) or (781) 930-0304 (Chinese).

“Your Age Info Specialist”
Since 1977, South Shore Elder Services, Inc. has been providing South Shore seniors and caregivers with the resources and services that promote and maintain optimal levels of elder independence.

As one of 27 Aging Services Access Points in Massachusetts, South Shore Elder Services coordinates and provide a wide range of services to elders and caregivers throughout Braintree, Cohasset, Hingham, Holbrook, Hull, Milton, Norwell, Quincy, Randolph, Scituate and Weymouth. The agency’s mission is to promote and maintain an optimal level of elder independence through the coordination of resources, advocacy and caregiver support.

Supported in part by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs, South Shore Elder Services is located at 159 Bay State Drive in Braintree, MA. For more information contact (781) 848-3910 or visit their website at www.sselder.org.

CONTACT: Steven Dubin, PR Works, (781) 582-1061, sdubin@prworkzone.com.