Today is Friday
Nov 21, 2008
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Community ties |
| | Posted on Friday, November 30, 2007 | | | By Julia Boyle
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE
When Money magazine named Catonsville one of the best places to live in America in 2007, County Executive Jim Smith attributed the community’s relationship with Charlestown among the reasons.
“Charlestown is a huge contributor to Catonsville, UMBC [University of Maryland, Baltimore County], and Baltimore County,” he said at the town’s celebration in September. “They should be very proud because they are a big part of the reason Catonsville got honored.”
‘Idea of community’ held high
“The idea of community is based not only on location but on mutual interest and shared concerns. Most of our residents come from the local area where they have made their homes for a lifetime. We appreciate that our residents bring their love of community with them, contributing to the Charlestown experience,” says Sherry Parrish, director of resident life at Charlestown.
Area organizations such as Catonsville Senior Center, Baltimore County Community College at Catonsville, Lansdowne Elementary School, and UMBC have formed strong relationships with the people who live and work at Charlestown.
Working together for common goal
“We have an excellent working relationship with Charlestown,” says Helen Bronstein, director of the Catonsville Senior Center located on Rolling Road. “We’re both out to serve the senior community, and we both offer opportunities for older people to remain healthy and independent.” Both facilities have softball fields, classrooms, a library, fitness center, wood shop, creative arts studio, and computer lab. The senior center has a dining room and a multipurpose room with a dance floor. Charlestown, which is more like a college campus, also has six restaurants, an aquatics center, two banks, hair salons, and convenience stores. Whatever someone doesn’t find at one facility, they can surely find at the other. | |
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Playing with peers
“We have a lot of people from Charlestown. They come for classes, to volunteer, to socialize, for special events, and for activities,” she says. “Many people had a loyal tie to the Catonsville Senior Center before they moved to Charlestown. Since we have such a good relationship with the community, they didn’t have to give up anything when they moved.”
Bronstein says the senior center has nearly 1,500 members, more than 100 of whom come from Charlestown.
Alice Krohn has been a member of the senior center since a year after she moved to Charlestown in 2001. “There are 157 clubs and activities at Charlestown, and we have such a composite of wonderful, well-educated, well-traveled people here,” she says. “So it’s an interesting place, but it’s nice to do something different once in a while.”
Local connections
Aside from the Catonsville Senior Center, people who live at Charlestown have formed strong bonds with several other community organizations.
Morton Friedenberg and Phyllis Lansing founded Bridging Generations, a volunteer program in collaboration with Lansdowne Elementary School. People from Charlestown volunteer as teacher aides or pen pals a few days a week. In turn, the children visit Charlestown several times a year for musical performances and art shows.
Baltimore County Community College at Catonsville offers classes at Charlestown to residents for a reduced price. Classes run during the fall and spring semesters.
Charlestown’s parent company, Erickson Retirement Communities, has a long history with UMBC. There, John Erickson founded The Erickson School of Aging, Management, and Policy. Additionally, one group of residents from Charlestown recently won a bronze Telly Award for their project “Charlestown Digital Stories,” in collaboration with UMBC’s New Media Studio. See companion story on page 3 for the full story.
Easy access to local activities
Krohn says people at Charlestown have no trouble getting to other places in and around Catonsville, even if they don’t drive. “They can just take the shuttle,” she says.
Charlestown’s transportation system has shuttle buses, vans, and sedans available to take people where they need to go. Local destinations—those within a five-mile radius of the community— are free of charge. Further distances cost about the same as a taxi.
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