CALEB NICKERSON
SHAWVILLE March 17, 2021
If you’ve got some extra collared shirts or nice blouses kicking around, the staff at the local long-term care facility will take them off your hands for a special project.
According to Serena Larivière Ferrigan, a leisure technician at the Pontiac Reception Centre in Shawville, the shirts will be used to create “dignity aprons” something she came across on social media.
“A dignity apron is basically an apron that is camouflaged to look like an everyday dress- shirt or blouse,” she explained. The shirts are sewn onto . . .
regular rubber-backed aprons to keep resident’s regular clothes clean while still looking relatively fashionable.
“It was not something that we had ever implemented here, we do use aprons at mealtimes, but when I saw the idea of the dignity aprons, I thought that that would be something that would be a really good addition to our establishment, especially since we put a lot of focus on it being a home-like living environment.”
She said she was blown away by the response from Pontiac residents to a post she made about the apron project on social media. She said that this was a continuation of previous projects that she has reached out to the community for, such as making snowmen outside the facility’s windows or sending cards for residents at Christmas time.
“I would like to say that once again the community has stepped up because the post wasn’t on Facebook for an hour and I was already getting calls, already getting messages that people had bags ready for me or people volunteering to sew,” she said.
Larivière said that they would be implementing the program at the reception centre first but added that the other public homes in the area would likely be following suit.
Those looking to make arrangements for donations can call Larivière at 819-647-3851 ext. 3246.
