Following the shuttering of schools and business closures in March 2020 that heralded what would become an unprecedented health and economic crisis, it took less than two weeks for town officials and community leaders to rally around those who were most at risk from the new virus, putting together an irregular army of volunteers to shop and run errands every week.

Almost exactly a year later, that group will finally disband, having spent thousands of combined hours making over 2,360 shopping trips, putting their own health at risk to protect seniors and people with underlying health conditions who were unable to do it themselves.

With vaccinations of seniors reaching levels above 90 percent and staff and volunteers returning to their normal jobs, the town is transitioning back to what might almost look like normalcy, and this herculean effort is officially going to come to a close on Friday, April 9.

“Our seniors are so grateful and they just found it an invaluable service. They would always donate what they could,” said Shana Moore, a Community Center receptionist who spent the last few months coordinating the shopping service along with her other duties.

“The challenges were many, because it’s very hard to shop for people...there are so many things that can go wrong,” she added.

But the program, despite the wild, uncertain circumstances in which it was birthed and the untrodden path it followed, is being called a consummate success. Encompassing a handful of organizations and crewed by a disparate band of individuals, those involved said that the effort was quintessentially Guilford—just people working together to help their neighbors.

“It just seemed very Guilford,” said Seniors Program Coordinator Terry Holland-Buckley, who has broadly overseen the shopping since the beginning. “So many people volunteered right away.”

Town officials were not immediately able to provide an exact number, but estimated around 100 residents had volunteered to be shoppers over the last year. At its peak last May, about 70 people were taking multiple weekly shopping trips to deliver groceries and other essentials to more than 200 Guilford seniors, according to Holland-Buckley.

Retired Guilford teacher and founder of the Witness Stones Project, Inc., Dennis Culliton initially headed up the volunteer effort, making the first shopping trip himself at the end of March 2020 and dedicated as much as 40 hours a week to the effort, according to town officials. Other contributors included the head of Guilford Social Services Tammy DeFrancesco, members of the Song Strong Foundation, First Selectman Matt Hoey and members of his office staff, Rick Maynard from Parks & Recreation, and Guilford Interfaith Volunteers.

Like many of these others, both Holland-Buckley and Moore essentially took on responsibility for the effort alongside their regular duties. That included making schedules for the dozens of volunteer shoppers, tracking expenses and donations, and working with the grocery stores, according to Holland-Buckley.

She said depending on the location of the person who needed groceries, shopping trips could easily run over an hour. Many volunteers took on two or three per week for months at a time, and whenever the town asked for more help, people were ready to step up, she said.

“So many people volunteered right away,” Holland-Buckley said. “There are a lot of people out there, just people interested in helping.”

“As soon as we would put the notice out for more, we would get lots of volunteers—actually too many,” Moore said, laughing.

Both Moore and Holland-Buckley spoke about how important the program was not just to get groceries to the seniors but to stay connected with them, especially in the early days of the pandemic when fear and uncertainty about the pandemic and its dangers were rampant.

“The shoppers don’t go into their house, but there’s a little bit of social interaction there,” Moore said. “Sometimes it’s really the only person that the senior sees that week.”

Since November of last year, the Community Center has been hosting drive through lunches for seniors, which has facilitated some of that social interaction, town staff said.

Even better, the senior lunch program is re-launching on Tuesday, April 13, and seniors will be stepping back into the familiar confines of the Community Center for the first time in more than a year—albeit in a very different world. Town staff have also said that they are not ruling out having to begin the shopping program again if virus cases take a dramatic turn for the worse.

But right now, they said the feeling of looking back at what the community was able to do for some of its most vulnerable members, stretching out over an entire year and involving so many generous, selfless folks sparks feelings of relief and pride.

“It’s such a tangible, positive service. It’s literally bringing people food,” Moore said. “Despite all the challenges it’s very satisfying, I would say.”

“Just seeing the community of Guilford come together, which is what usually happens,” said Holland-Buckley. “Just very fulfilling. It’s what we do here.”

For more information on senior lunches or the Community Center, visit www.guilfordparkrec.com or call 203-453-8068.