They’ve only been operating a few short months, but Wilton Cares has had a big impact.
Formed April 1, as a community grassroots effort to take care of vulnerable neighbors during the COVID-19 shutdowns, the volunteer group, which is supported by the local Wilton Lyndeborough Women’s Club, has touched the lives of hundreds of residents of both Wilton and Lyndeborough. They have delivered groceries, cooked meals, made over 1,000 masks, and delivered “thank yous” personally to dozens of essential and front-line workers.
“It started as discussions on Facebook,” said Wilton Cares volunteer Sara Spittel. “And it’s just morphed into other things as needed.”
On Thursday, they gave a thank you to Alyssa Lavoie, owner of Tumbleweeds Child Care Center, and her staff, who helped the daycare stay open to care for the children of essential workers.
Lavoie said during the height of the COVID-19 epidemic, her 60-child facility was down to about a quarter of its normal capacity, and even now, is only caring for a total of 30 children, belonging to parents who weren’t able to work remotely.
When Wilton Cares came to call on Thursday, they did so on one of Wilton’s fire trucks, with an armload of presents for the Tumbleweeds classrooms, including a new alphabet rug and blocks, as well as more practical matters such as latex gloves – all given out by none other than Santa Claus himself.
Spittel said these thank yous are only the smallest part of what the group does.
In the former Wilton train station, the group meets nearly daily to accept donations of food and materials, and it’s where their operation functions. One room is dedicated to grocery deliveries, stacked with household staples and pet food. Another has a table piled with masks in various stages of construction, ready for volunteers to take home to cut, pin or sew.
Deb Mortvedt, another Cares volunteer, said this is her way to make sure her neighbors are being taken care of.
“I’ve done 10 puzzles, but this is a way that I could give back to my town,” Mortvedt said. “It has been a safe place to light and serve.”
“It’s so local,” agreed Cares volunteer Alice Vargish. “Everything is going to the community I live in.”