THE GLICK FAMILY

Cascade County Aging Services is an umbrella organization for Meals on Wheels, Foster Grandparent Program (FGP), Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) and seven Senior Centers in and around Great Falls, Montana. Through hard work and dedication to the community, the Glick family has achieved many worthwhile goals for Aging Services.

The Glicks have worked with staff and volunteers to make sure that the needs of the seniors are known in the community. An example of this is the Thanksgiving dinner the Air Force Base volunteers provided for the needy seniors. Last year, the squadron in charge of this project was overseas and the agency did not have the resources to prepare for the event. The Glick family saw this need and came in and took charge. They advertised in the Base newspaper for volunteers and solicited local donations. For Thanksgiving Day, they had recruited over 30 Air Force families in the Meals on Wheels kitchen. This group completed the project and delivered 300 meals and strengthened relationships between the young base families and the seniors. This year on Thanksgiving will again find the Glick family in the Meals on Wheels kitchen orchestrating the meal preparation and delivery. They have also taken the lead in organizing the delivery of Christmas presents to seniors.

The entire Glick family has enjoyed the opportunity to fill in, sometimes at the last minute, delivering Meals on Wheels. They not only personally deliver meals, but find other volunteers to help out. The Glick children invite their teenage friends to come along. This provides the young people the opportunity to interact with the senior population.

RSVP distributes boxes of food to low-income seniors every other month. The Glick family has taken on a rural area about 15 miles from the city, visiting with the isolated seniors they serve. They have also been successful in finding other families to help cover the wide-open spaces. FGP has an annual dinner and the Glick family participates each year with this and other special events. Their trademark is showing up with a rose for each volunteer, and FGP looks forward to seeing the Glick family with flowers in hand.

Census data shows that the community of Great Falls is growing older quickly. There are growing numbers of senior needs and diminishing resources. The seniors have built the community and now they need to be taken care of. The Glick family has an on-going relationship and interest with the senior population. They have come in on evenings and weekends for the past three years to prepare meals and make treats for the seniors who benefit from the Meals on Wheels program. They have also given hours of service to the Cascade County Historical Society, the Montana State Fair, the Great Falls Symphony Association, the Great Falls Spinners and Weavers Guild, and they personally go on visitations to see homebound seniors.