A group of New West seniors was enjoying a dinner out when a random act of kindness made the night even better.
Sharon Bard, a driver with the Seniors Services Society’s Dining Club, said about 20 seniors attended a recent dinner at Gino’s Place.
“It’s a four-course meal, and it costs the people $10 a piece,” she said of the weekly dinner at the Sapperton eatery. “They treat us like gold there.”
Sapperton resident Emily Crawford was sitting at one end of the table when she started chatting with a man in the restaurant.
“I always sit at the end of the table. He started talking to me. He said, ‘what is this?,’” Crawford said about the gathering. “I said, ‘you have to be 90 or older to sit here.’ He said ‘my mother was 102 and she just passed away … My mother is going to be here right at that table because I am going to buy your meal.’”
With that, the man pulled out cash and paid for all of the seniors’ dinners – on the condition that the money they’d put in for the Dining Club would be returned.
“Everybody’s $10 bills went back to them, right in front of this guy,” Bard said. “Sure enough, he went up and paid for everybody’s meal. Then on top of that, he gave a very generous tip for the waitresses. Then he slipped away. We were all just shocked. It was lovely.”
Money is tight for some seniors, Bard said, so $10 can make a big difference in their budgets. One senior said the random act of kindness allowed her to attend another Dining Club event.
Although random acts of kindness and free meals aren’t the norm, Bard said the Dining Club is a great program offered by the Seniors Services Society. The program runs year-round.
“It’s a very social thing,” she said. “You are getting out to be social, and you are getting a really good deal at a restaurant that is local in your neighbourhood. It runs three nights a week.”
The purpose of the Dining Club is to provide a social outing for those who may eat alone, and to provide a venue for clients to enjoy a nutritious meal at a reasonable price.
“It’s a really, really wonderful thing,” Bard said. “It’s a very special group.”
Each Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the Seniors Services Society’s wheelchair-equipped bus picks up seniors and drives them to that day’s restaurant.
“I enjoy the company of everybody,” Crawford said of the Dining Club. “It’s getting out, and I don’t have to cook!”
A volunteer is on hand to help out on the bus and collect money for the day’s dinner, which varies depending on the restaurant du jour.
“We go right to your house, we will pick everybody up and then we go to the restaurant,” Bard said. “They are responsible for the cost of the meal – they will know in advance what it is. It changes at different places.”
Anna Truong, the society’s manager of resource development, said the Dining Club goes to many local restaurants, including the Waffle House, Chan’s Garden, Cockney Kings, Go Thai, Sixth Street Grill and Dublin Castle. In some cases, the night out is a flat rate for the ride, meals and taxes, but in other cases seniors order off the menu and pay for whatever they order.
“We have tried things like sushi,” she said. “It didn’t go over so well.”
In addition to the Dining Club, the Seniors Services Society also offers a Lunch Club on Fridays.
“Our programs are really geared toward seniors who are lower income,” Truong said. “Our programs are fairly affordable.”
Anyone wanting more information about the Dining Club can call the Seniors Services Society at 604-520-6621.
