By TIM KELLY
Residents of the Wesley by the Bay assisted living facility received free, hearty Easter Sunday dinners, courtesy of Wilson Plumbing and Heating of Ocean City.
The Easter afternoon drop-off of the meals was attended by Wilson Plumbing and Heating’s proprietor Anthony “Tony” Wilson, who heard there was a need for the donation through Drew Fasy, the chairman of OCNJ CARE.
Wilson serves on OCNJ CARE as one of its captains for the city’s Third Ward and is also the ward’s representative on City Council.
OCNJ CARE is a nonprofit group set up to identify community needs, recruit volunteers, raise money and allocate resources to help locals in need due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Drew identified the need, and a great opportunity for us to give something back to the community,” said Wilson.
Wilson Plumbing and Heating’s donation to Wesley by the Bay, part of the United Methodist Communities system located at 2401 Bay Avenue, covered the cost of 64 complete Easter dinners.
They were prepared by Marsini’s Kitchen restaurant of Somers Point, which has been very active in its own right, making their own food donations and delivering them throughout Ocean City and the mainland during the coronavirus pandemic.
The authentic Italian restaurant at 12 E. Maryland Ave. in Somers Point boxed the meals, loaded them up in a van for transport and delivered them to the facility.
Wilson accompanied the restaurant staffers and was overwhelmed by the reaction of the Wesley by the Bay workers and community members.
As is the case with most other assisted living facilities, the Wesley by the Bay residents have been under a stay-at-home quarantine that excludes visits from family members and friends.
The donation of a traditional Easter dinner with all the trimmings was a highlight of day for the residents, Fasy said.
Wilson looked on with appreciation but at a safe social distancing location.
“The staff had their hands full, so I pretty much tried to stay out of the way,” Wilson said with a laugh. “It was clear how appreciative they were to receive the food.”
“It is a good feeling (to make the donation),” he added. “We just tried to chip in our proverbial two cents.”
Fasy was appreciative as well.
“This is exactly the type of scenario we like to see – the type of scenario we hoped would occur when (OCNJ CARE) was re-started,” Fasy said. “This did a great service to some people who really needed the boost.”
