Dover residents form Friends of the Council on Aging

Dover - Resident Joan Panek said that getting older doesn’t mean she has to act old. She said that as she and her friends and colleagues age, limitations are constantly emerging, threatening this type of lifestyle. She said this is exactly why she decided to start an organization to fundraise for an elderly support group.

Panek introduced the Friends of the Council on Aging to the Dover Board of Selectmen last Thursday. She said this nonprofit organization, which would fundraise for the COA, was important because the elderly need the help.

Panek is the first president of the organization.

“Seniors are a special group,” she said. “And we need special services.”

Panek said that the group hoped to fundraise enough to buy a van to transport seniors to and from events and to sponsor a lecture series for the seniors. Their biggest goal is to eventually build a senior center, she said.

“Dover is one of the only towns without a place for the elderly,” she said. “We would like to see Dover join the rest of the commonwealth and get a senior center.”

Joseph M. Melican, who is both a member of the Board of Selectmen and of the Friends of the COA, said that the formation of the group was a difficult task, but an important one.

“It’s been a lot of hard work,” he said. “We’ve been putting the time in.

The COA, a national group that is not allowed to fundraise, receives its money solely from organizations such as the one Panek has started. She said that she is hopeful her group can achieve their difficult fundraising goals.

“I’m optimistic we can go to the community and raise money,” she said. “We really would like to draw in more people to the COA.”

Evan Koslof

6/29/11

Originally Posted: http://www.wickedlocal.com/dover/news/x177095226/Dover-residents-form-Friends-of-the-Council-on-Aging#axzz1QhWeXGcp