NEWARK – Sixteen students from St. Mark’s High School spent three days in July offering help to the residents of Marydale Retirement Village in Newark. Marydale, run by the Diocese of Wilmington, provides housing for seniors in need and people with disabilities.
The students washed windows; cleaned ovens, kitchens and bathrooms; weeded, pruned and mulched; and cleaned the community center kitchen; and detailed the bus.
The visit was organized by Sister Sandra Grieco, IHM, who was assisted by several faculty members. The students who volunteered were seniors Zoe Bonitatibus, John Daly, Madison Saunders, Emma Saxton and Kacey Tramont; juniors Ethan Kacmarcik and Tommy McCarthy; sophomores Abigail Marks, Kirah Ruffin and Brandon Wiggins; and freshmen Kelly Barker, Faith Dowling, Andrew Fuska, Madison Angotti, Anastasia Stanley and Aditya Gill.
On May 2, a rededication of the affordable housing community was held in Newark. It is managed by the Diocese of Wilmington Catholic Charities through Catholic Ministry to the Elderly Inc. A complete renovation of the 18-acre Marydale complex finished this year and included more than $8 million of improvements.
Bishop Malooly led the rededication ceremony at the senior housing community following a nearly two-year campus renovation of apartment interiors and exteriors as well as community facilities. The complex consists of 108 one-bedroom, garden-style apartments arranged in a series of nine courtyards for seniors who qualify as low-income.
The complex received exterior upgrades to resident buildings, including windows and exterior doors and light fixtures, new roofs, gutters, downspouts, siding and shutters, and accessible entry porches to designated handicap units. Interior resident unit upgrades included heat pumps, kitchen appliances, and hot water heaters, as well as new kitchen cabinets, countertops, low flow/energy saving bathroom fixtures, bathroom grab bars, interior doors, flooring and a sprinkler fire suppression system.
Marydale originally opened in the spring of 1981. Bishop Thomas J. Mardaga, sixth bishop of the diocese, presided at the grand opening.
