Salinas Firefighters pass out flowers at Care Facilities for Mother’s Day…

Firefighters around Monterey County teamed up with Alliance on Aging to make Mother’s Day a bit brighter for those living in care facilities.

For many living at senior homes and care facilities, visitors can be few and far between- making it hard on holidays like Mother’s Day.

Norma Jean Baker, who lives at the Windsor Garden Rehabilitation Center, says having family living in a different state can be tough, “Right now I have no family that lives in the area. I only have one child and that’s my daughter and two grandsons and they don’t live in California.”

The group Alliance on Aging is helping change that with their annual event ‘I Remember Mama.’ For the past 24 years firefighters and volunteers pass out flowers to women at facilities around Monterey County.

Wanda Christiansen, the Marketing Director with Alliance on Aging says, “A lot of women at senior homes do not get visitors, and we want to change that. ‘I Remember Mama’ assures that women get appreciated, especially on Mother’s Day.”

This year more that 1,200 flowers were passed out from Castroville down to King City.

Captain Chris Knapp with the Salinas Fire Department says it’s a nice change of pace, “We’re delivering flowers to the mothers at these facilities. We are usually coming here to render medical aid, but today we get to do a little something different, which is refreshing for us and brightening their day.”

As for the women getting the flowers, “Oh I think it’s wonderful, they’re such gorgeous things. It’s especially great for those who do not have any family,” says Dorothy Walker.

“My husband used to buy me orchids all of the time and our house had orchids in them, a lot of orchids different colors and stuff, and so that’s one reason they’re very special because I don’t have my husband anymore, so they mean a lot to me,” says Baker.

The firefighters say while they have to be away from their families too, this helps ease that, “We can’t be at home, so it’s nice to be somewhere else where we can put smiles on peoples face,” says Captain Knapp.