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Island Commons

132 Littlefield Road Chebeague Island, Maine 04017 www.islandcommons.com

Administrator, Amy Rich 207-846-5610 commons@chebeague.net

A Shout-Out to Our Staff, Community and Resilient Residents!

All of us are adjusting to life during the COVID emergency, and the residents of the Commons are no different. Thanks to our dedicated (and creative) staff, the long days of quarantine and caution have also included some fun. Even the Easter Bunny paid a (remote) visit. Easter Sunday featured a festive breakfast and dinner, hand-painted cards and chocolate rabbits (thanks, Cat and Carly Rich), a scavenger hunt organized by our clever weekend staffers Tory Nevens and Victoria St. Louis, captured on video by Tory, featuring her dog Watson. (Check out the Commons’ Facebook page.) While family members couldn’t share in the festivities, the Commons has gone digital with Zoom conversations on iPads, on loan from the school. (Thanks, Bev Johnson and Chip Emery.) Care manager Christina Skillin and her team have become experts in preventive measures to keep the Commons virus-free, with able assists from our two M.D. board members, Jim Cox-Chapman and Kip Webb, who have spent hours with our staff providing support and expertise. “Well done!” emailed Kip. “We are all very fortunate to have your hands on the wheel.” An offer of an emergency grant from the Recompense Fund to help cover a portion of our rapidly rising expenses for personal protective equipment and supplies mushroomed over the course of 48 hours into an outpouring of additional donations from the community, announced via email with this heading: “We’ve got you covered!” (To all who generously contributed, our profound thanks.) Through it all, Administrator Amy Rich has digested scores of health advisories and technical recommendations, and Community Outreach Manager Nancy Olney has devised an elaborate

network of food and supply deliveries while both of them continue to oversee daily operations.

Other gifts, large and small, in recent days remind us all that we are extremely fortunate to be weathering this epidemic in such a caring and supportive community. And while most of us have the luxury of sheltering in our own homes for the duration, we all should give heartfelt thanks to the dedicated caregivers at the Commons who leave the security of their homes and families to travel to the Commons to ensure that our residents stay safe and healthy. They are “our heroes,” wrote an appreciative islander. We couldn’t agree more.

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MAY 2020 CHEBEAGUE ISLAND COUNCIL CALENDAR