Seniors are an integral part of the community and just for them, local McDonald's owners Jennifer Antolin and Trevor Westerhoff started a Senior Social program so no senior feels alone.
Jennifer Antolin owns four McDonald’s franchises in Guelph with the support of her husband and director of community/guest relations Trevor Westerhoff. After the success of their other social events in the community, such as Family Nights and Coffee With a Cop, she knew it was time to create an ongoing event specifically geared toward seniors.
And this idea came from Christine Bretherick, a retired teacher from Creativity Matters who teaches art to allow individuals to get in touch with their creative side and has a large amount of experience organizing social events for seniors while using art to break the ice between them.
“As a teacher for years, I have seen the power of creativity. Just the feeling of satisfaction people get,” says Bretherick
Bretherick came to a Family Nights event that is held every Wednesday, and impressed by the positive outcomes of the event, suggested that such an event would be tremendously beneficial for the seniors in the community because they might feel a little more isolated and might not be getting the same kind of consideration as other age groups.
“You get to an age where, ‘where do you get that joy?’ As a senior myself, I dread isolation,” says Bretherick.
And so Antolin was so moved by the event that she decided to begin her first Senior Social event on April 17 that included the opportunity to do crafts, socialize, have a meal and it went so well, Antolin decided to host it on an ongoing basis depending on how the next one goes on Aug. 28 at the McDonald’s restaurant at 372 Stone Rd W, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
“We had a bunch of people sitting together who didn’t really know each other and people coming in saying they hadn't been to a McDonald's in a number of years who couldn't believe the difference in the decor, coffee, quality of the food and the friendliness of the employees,” says Antolin.
“It was a very nice feeling in the restaurant.”
The restaurant had fresh pastries with tables set up with colouring books and colouring pencils- scientifically proven to ease anxiety and tension- where anybody who came in and participated were able to enjoy a cup of free coffee, tea or cold beverage.
“We’re always looking for new ways to contribute and give back to our community because everyone has been very gracious and welcoming,” says Antolin who moved to Guelph with her husband three years ago and is always eager to help up and get to know the community.
The couple currently participates and runs several programs in the community whether it is the Family Nights and Coffee with a Cop event in their restaurant or an athletic sponsorship such as the Believe To Achieve program where they send athletes to schools to speak about all the focus on teamwork and perseverance, Friday Night Lights for highschool students to play football and the McDonald's Hawks Nest Family Zone where activities are catered for children.
Antolin who has grown up with McDonald’s because her dad started his business with the franchise the year she was born says her dad instilled in her that whenever she has the opportunity to do something for her community, she should take it.
“McDonald's is a great place for kids and family, so we've really been gearing a lot of our focus to kids and family over the last few years,” says Antolin.
She says the event is something that they have never tried before and it seemed to resonate with the crowd and while it is geared toward seniors, everyone is welcome.
“If we end up starting to see you know one or two or five or 10 more people every week joining in, the more the better,” says Antolin who wants to see how the event turn out,” says Antolin.
She says her employees are very guest focused and the generation of young people that are coming up in the restaurants have a real passion to make a difference in the world.
“It really has given my team a lot more pride and value in what they're doing because it's not just ‘I work at McDonald's’ you know it's 'I work at Jennifer and Trevor’s McDonald's and we really are trying to give back to the community.'" says Antolin.
