The transition to retirement often brings with it the freedom to focus more on family and friends, religious pursuits, and personal interests. The seniors at one popular MetroWest community are also finding a renewed sense of purpose through acts of service.



New Horizons at Marlborough launched a "Community Care Club" service program earlier this fall. Its first official activity was to help herald the return of the back-to-school season at Jewish Family Service of Metrowest, in Framingham, where they volunteered to assemble backpacks full of school supplies for under-resourced local youths.

"The projects we've taken on thus far have been incredibly rewarding," said Event and Activities Planner Amber Goldberg. "It's amazing to see how even small efforts can make such a big difference in the community."

This is not the first time New Horizons residents have organized on behalf of the greater-Marlborough community. At its annual winter crafts fair, the on-campus "Busy Hands" group auctions off hand-knit and crocheted wares to raise funds for a chosen nonprofit. And during the COVID-19 health crisis, residents produced and donated thousands of handmade face coverings for families, churches, and hospitals in need.

The Community Care Club most recently partnered with a local Girl Scout troop to curtail food insecurity in Marlborough. Having collected nonperishable and hygienic items throughout October, the seniors will visit Immaculate Conception Church next week to restock a grassroots food pantry created by the scouts last May.

Readers who wish to suggest future volunteer projects for consideration are invited to contact Goldberg at AMG@cummings.com or 508-460-5200.

This focus on supporting the broader community aligns directly with New Horizons at Marlborough's origins. Established in 1994, the not-for-profit senior community is owned and operated by Cummings Foundation of Woburn, which awards more than $30 million to greater Boston nonprofits each year.

One of the largest private foundations in New England, Cummings Foundation has awarded more than $500 million total to date, including grants of at least $100,000-$500,000 each to Catholic Charities, Catholic Schools Foundation, Catholic Community Fund of the Archdiocese of Boston Lowell Catholic, Nativity Preparatory School, and St. Vincent DePaul Society, as well as dozens of other Church-run facilities.



About New Horizons

Located at 400 Hemenway Street, about 13 miles west of Route 128, New Horizons at Marlborough offers a continuum of care, including independent living, assisted living, memory care, respite stays, and geri-psychiatric programs. The heavily wooded 40-acre campus features numerous unusual amenities, such as a spacious chapel, a large heated indoor pool, multiple theaters, and a game room, greenhouse, and fitness center. Residents also enjoy the convenience of having an apothecary, a general store, and a four-seat hair salon, all on site.

Group activities at New Horizons include regular exercise classes, educational presentations, movies, book and bocce clubs, Jeopardy and Texas Hold'em tournaments, chorus, musical entertainment, and off-site excursions to museums, restaurants, shows, and sporting events. Resident art programs and displays, as well as on-campus Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish religious services, are also offered.

Although the community is nondenominational, much of New Horizons' large Catholic population participates in daily Mass and communion at the gorgeous on-site Cardinal Cushing Chapel, with many opting to act as lectors, greeters, eucharistic ministers, and sacristans. In addition, weekly prayer services and bible study classes provide frequent opportunities to practice their faith as part of a community, without leaving home.



No rent increases for at least six years

The strictly not-for-profit New Horizons at Marlborough is currently welcoming new residents to its MetroWest senior living community. Thanks to a unique rate-lock policy, new residents are guaranteed no increases to their rent and board fees for at least their first six years. These fees include all charges for lodging, gourmet meals, water, heat, air conditioning, basic cable TV, local telephone service, parking, and regular maintenance.

Residences for a single person, including three home cooked, gourmet meals daily, are available from $2,430 per month. More information about New Horizons is available at CountryCommunities.com.

Prospective residents and their families are encouraged to contact New Horizons at Marlborough at 508-460-5200 to arrange a time to tour the campus, meet current residents and staff, and sample a home-cooked meal.