Residents support troops with prayer bracelets
Volunteers needed for 'assemble line'
by KIMBERLY M. KARCHER Clarence Editor

Requests from all over the world are made for the Tennyson Court Prayer Bracelets.

Five years ago Ann Hoffman, director of recreation at Tennyson Court, had an idea for a daily activity that would give the residents something different to do.

"With so many residents being veterans or having family members currently serving our country, Hoffman thought it would be nice to do something special for the young men and women fighting for our country," said Colleen Eoannou, director of marketing at Tennyson Court

Residents of the assisted-living and memory-care community agreed and thus the assembly of "Prayer Bracelets" began.

Eoannou said each handmade bracelet held the name of a resident and a message that read: "The name on this bracelet is saying a prayer for you. Keep it near you until you are home. And remember, we thank you."

For the next year and a half the residents of Tennyson Court continued to mail the bracelets around the world, according to Eoannou.

Five years later, the requests are still pouring in; and the residents and staff at Tennyson Court are hoping that with help from the surrounding communities that this act of kindness and faith can continue.

The staff at Tennyson Court is asking for volunteers to join the residents at 2 p.m Monday Feb. 18 to help with the assembly of additional prayer bracelets, which are made up with colorful beads that include lettering to spell out a loved-ones name. Anyone wishing to have a bracelet assembled for a love one is asked to call Eoannou or Hoffman at 632-9496 and provide the name of the individual. The prayer bracelet order form can also be accessed through a Web site, www. tennysoncourt. com

"The thank you letters we have received because of these have been overwhelming," Eoannou said. "It may seem like such a small thing, but actually it has become large and monumental. It means a lot to our residents that they have had this impact on such a large scale and to them, it is so worth their time."

Eoannou said the assisted-facility living home is one of a kind for this community.

"The design is set up with 'houses' where 14 residents live in each 'home,'" she said. "It's truly a quaint homelike setting, and we are very proud of that."

Tennyson Court is located at 49 Tennyson Court, near Transit Road.

For information, visit http:// www. tennysoncourt. com.