Rochester Jaycees Deliver Household Goods and Happiness for Easter

They came bearing paper towels and canned food and a few Easter treats.

But what they really gave can't be purchased at a store — or packaged inside a big shiny gift bag.

On Friday and Saturday members of the Rochester Area Jaycees group delivered 29 bags of pantry and paper items to senior citizens around town. Their work is known as The Easter Basket Project and it's one of several service projects the Jaycees lead in Rochester and Rochester Hills each year.

"It's a way for us to wish them a happy Easter and also to let them know that people in the community are thinking about them over the holidays," said Julia Webber, the Jaycees president. She and her husband, Rochester Hills City Council Member Michael Webber, have been leading this particular project for the past few years.

The recipients all receive Meals on Wheels through the Older Persons' Commission. During several deliveries on Friday, the senior residents expressed their heartfelt gratitude.

Julia Webber said that gratitude is part of what motivates her work on this particular project — her grandmother lived in Texas until she passed away last year, and Webber said she always hoped that people in that community were looking after her grandmother the way people in Rochester look after the senior citizens here.

The Jaycees have been a part of the Rochester area for 53 years; it is designed to teach young adults ages 21-40 about leadership and help them develop management skills by running service projects. For more information, visit www.rochesterareajaycees.org.