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Some luck still made its way to a Suffolk nursing home in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Pilot Club of Suffolk gave goodie bags to the residents at Autumn Care Suffolk to help celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

Every year the Pilot Club of Suffolk has a tradition of hosting an event for St. Patrick’s Day at Autumn Care. Last year, the world was freshly locked down for the new pandemic, so the club could not celebrate with the residents. This year, with visiting restrictions still in place, the club wanted to do something even if they could not gather.

“We just wanted to show that even though COVID changed our normal, we still can do community service and work,” said Caren Bueshi, a director serving on the board of the Pilot Club of Suffolk. “We have now redefined what is normal.”

In past years, the Pilot Club of Suffolk would decorate the meeting room at Autumn Care and invite the residents to come for an afternoon of fun. There would be cupcakes, bingo and other activities for the residents to enjoy.

Instead, the Pilot Club of Suffolk put together goodie bags for each resident to help them celebrate the day in their rooms. The club dropped off the bags for the Autumn Care staff to hand out to the residents. These bags included crackers, tissues, lotion, a St. Patrick’s Day hat and other fun goodies.

“We made sure there was enough for everyone to remind the residents that no one is forgotten during this time,” said Bueshi.

The Pilot Club’s mission is to create positive change in the community through friendship, service and to care for others. Providing a visit and a smile to the nursing home residents is one of many ways the club accomplishes this goal.

Helping to put the bags together were eighth-graders from Forest Glen Middle School. These students got a chance to get a head start on their community service hours needed for graduation.

“By 10th grade, many students are working, so we try to help them get in their hours early when they aren’t so busy,” said Bueshi.