Mar-Bon Social Club....................... Christine A. Smyczynski

from Forever Young January 2022

A new year with new ideas...or not...........Carol Ann Harlos

FEATURE

“Make it a wonderful day” at Mar-Bon Social Club

STORY AND PHOTOS BY CHRISTINE A. SMYCZYNSKI

Afew years ago, sisters Victoria Pope and Laurie Pope-Greco sought a small day program to provide activities and socialization for their elderly mother. When they couldn’t find a program that fit her needs, they started one themselves.

Mar-Bon Social Club, named after the sisters’ mother, Mary, and late father Boniface is Western New York’s first and only social club exclusively for seniors. Originally set to open in April 2020, until…well, you know, the club finally opened on a limited basis in October 2020 with a maximum of about fifteen to twenty attendees daily. Its motto? “Make it a wonderful day.”

Mar-Bon is geared toward seniors who don’t get out much but want to stay active and socialize. “There are some members who were initially hesitant to come,” Pope-Greco shares. “However, once they got here, they really enjoyed it.” While

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Sisters Victoria Pope and Laurie Pope-Greco own and operate Mar-Bon Social Club.

all Mar-Bon’s current members are women, men are encouraged to join. The only membership stipulations are independent medication administration and restroom use, and daily attendance costs less than in-home companion care. The club is clean and comfortable; surfaces and floors are cleaned and vacuumed daily, and hand sanitizer is available in abundance. The club follows all state health and safety protocols.

A typical day begins coffee and snacks in the sitting area, where

members can chat by the fireplace until lunchtime. “It’s a very homelike environment,” says Pope. PopeGreco adds, “Most of them are in their eighties and early nineties; they get comfortable quickly and make friendships.” The sisters add that people tend to forget about the older generation so, at Mar-Bon, they strive to provide a place where they are not forgotten, a place to be rather than at home alone.

Lunch is generally one of the day’s high points. Since many elderly people tend to not eat enough, the sisters prepare balanced, nutritious meals in their commercial kitchen and serve them on real plates and utensils—no paper or plastic; what members don’t finish can be boxed to take home.

When a member first joins the club, Mar-Bon puts together a profile of their likes and dislikes, hobbies, favorite games, etc. to help personalize their activities. Members can book appointments at the onsite beauty salon to have their hair done before or after lunch. The club has a music room with CDs and vinyl records from different eras, a TV room, and a well-stocked library. Seasonal crafts and activities are offered throughout the year, such as gingerbread house making at Christmastime, egg coloring at Easter, and birthday celebrations.

Mar-Bon also sponsors monthly bus trips to Batavia Downs. You needn’t be a Mar-Bon member to participate; anyone fifty years of age with proof of COVID-19 vaccination is welcome. The trips, which depart from Mar-Bon’s parking lot, are daytime excursions between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.

In addition to hosting the social club during the day, Pope and PopeGreco rent the facility on evenings and weekends to members and nonmembers alike for showers, birthday parties, funeral breakfasts, and other functions. People like having events here because, unlike at a restaurant or banquet facility, it’s the only event taking place, so privacy is guaranteed.

The Mar-Bon facility can accommodate up to fifty people for sit-down meals and ninety-six for a cocktail party (it will soon have its liquor license). The sisters can recommend several nearby caterers, or renters can use their own favorite, but no food from home is permitted. The sisters decorate, set up the buffet, serve beverages, and clean up. “Mar-Bon started because of our parents,” the sisters say. “Anyone who walks through the door is considered family and treated with respect.”

For more information or to schedule a private tour contact:

Balanced, nutritious lunches are served in the club's spacious dining room.