Hockey players swap sticks for garden rakes to ‘help out’ senior citizens

Weeks before picking up hockey sticks at the season’s first practice, Fredonia hockey players wielded different implements: rakes, brooms and paint brushes. They were off the ice and out in full force for Senior Citizen Work Day.

The community service project developed 10 years ago by Head Coach Jeff Meredith helps local residents in Fredonia, Dunkirk and Brocton spruce up their homes and yards before fall.

“There were a couple of things that we wanted to accomplish,” Coach Meredith recalled. “We wanted to help people take some of the things off their to-do lists, but more importantly, we wanted to connect to the community, to find out what their story is, and to share what our story is.”

Each year, Senior Citizen Work Day deploys teams of two or three players to the homes of seniors to tackle assorted fall clean-up chores, such as cleaning out garages, washing windows and general yard maintenance. Twenty-five players fanned out to the homes of 10 seniors on Saturday, Sept. 7.

“It’s almost like they’re going to their grandparents’ house to do things to help out,” Meredith said. There was no need to “sell” the idea to the players, he noted. “They bought into it right away.”

Likewise, the seniors quickly warmed up to the hockey players, while connecting to Blue Devils hockey as well as the university.

“We’ve even had people come to games to see the guys. One woman just sent a graduation card to one of the guys that I just got his address. We even had a woman deliver three scarves one day for the guys that she knows,” Meredith said.

“It’s as much about ‘the connection’ as it is about the actual work.”

Max Blitz, a defenseman, happily connected with Marjorie Holmes, of Brocton, all four years he’s been on the team.

Meredith’s game plan pairs up players with the same seniors, year after year. “We send out guys to the same places every year, so it’s almost like guys are developing a grandparent in the community,” Meredith said.

“When I was a freshman they placed me with (Holmes), and we kept getting good feedback about the stuff that we were doing for her,” said Mr. Blitz, a senior Business Administration: Finance major from Chino Hills, Calif. “The guys before me were with her all four years.”

Yard work comprised much of the workload for Blitz and two teammates, senior Jacob Haynes and first-year student Dalton Jerzak. “She’s a good person to work for. We cleaned up her garden, did everything on her list and then sat on her porch and talked for 30 to 40 minutes,” he said. “We talked about life. She asked what our majors are, told us about her grown-up kids and their careers, and asked us about events at the school.”

Holmes is a big fan of the program. “I can’t rake leaves any more. That’s what I like about it. They raked leaves, put them into black bags. Sometimes they have painted for me. There’s always so much work that needs to be done,” Holmes said. “The boys made a promise that they wanted to come back to help me.”

“I’ve been pleased with the boys that come, every one of them,” Holmes said.

Blitz is really impressed that the 93-year-old Holmes, who lives on about five acres just outside of the village, is still able to mow her lawn with a tractor.

There’s always lots of yard work – some that Holmes, who grew up on a farm – is no longer able to handle, so she appreciates everything the hockey players do for her each year. She’s tried to give the players a tip, “but Coach Meredith says, ‘No you can’t. They are there to do a job, to help someone who needs help.’”

“It’s a great family atmosphere our coach has built that when you come here, it’s not just about hockey; it’s about building a second family away from home,” explained Tyler Riter, a junior forward/center. He, along with teammates Matt Letmanski and Gregg Lee trimmed bushes, pulled weeds, cut grass and put outdoor furniture away for Virginia Nedvesky.

This was Mr. Riter’s third year serving Mrs. Nedvesky, so they know each other well, and he notes that she’s attended a few hockey games. Riter is majoring in Business Administration: Marketing.

Phyllis Laurito reports three players – Anders Johnson, Matt Goeree and Charlie Manley – pulled weeds, washed windows, both inside and out, and also picked corn and squash in her vegetable garden. She generously shared the produce with her helpers.

“I live in a one-story house, so they didn’t have to climb ladders, just stretch out,” said Ms. Laurito, an 89-year-old Fredonia native. “They were very nice young men, did a really good job.” The players were also well-mannered and “must be good students, cause they listened.”