Dr. Santo Grande, Ed. D, President and CEO of Delmarva Community Services (DCS), the Mid-Shore’s nonprofit public transportation organization, has announced the appointment of Andy Hollis as Deputy Director for the organization, effective January 4, 2021.
Mr. Hollis most recently served as County Manager in Talbot County, a position he held for over 17 years until retiring to serve the community with a more active role in a non-profit organization. In this leadership position, Mr. Hollis will be assisting Dr. Grande with day-to-day operations, strategic initiatives, and the development of the Chesapeake Grove Project. “The opportunity to transition to a non-profit organization is one that I have given much thought to recently. I recognize my growing desire to help those who, through no fault of their own, need assistance. DCS fits that bill for me, and more, because for over 40 years they have stepped up and met the call to provide for others. I am blessed to spend the next chapter of my professional life with such amazing people and such a special organization.”
The focal point of the Chesapeake Grove community is the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Intergenerational Center. The facility will offer state-of-the-art senior and intergenerational services to the region and is the first of its kind on the Eastern Shore. The center will provide services designed to enhance the lives of adults and children through shared experiences within the 50,000 square foot facility and among the wider community.
The center’s concept was inspired during a visit by Dr. Grande to St. Anne’s Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where Sister Edna Lonergan, President, and her staff work to meet residents’ psychological, social and physical needs, through an extensive array of services and facilities. After a discussion with the president of the center, Dr. Grande decided to use the Wisconsin site as a model for Chesapeake Grove.
Dr. Grande states,”The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Intergenerational Center will bring several services under one roof, but in a space designed specifically to address modern expectations for community services and facilities. Most importantly will be the genuine interactions among seniors, individuals with disabilities and children. The St. Anne’s Center has proven that this model works and how mutually therapeutic/beneficial this type of shared community space can be among the wider community when combined with programming.”
In addition to the intergenerational center, the Chesapeake Grove community will include housing for seniors. These apartments will provide residents immediate access to the services and facilities within the Intergenerational Center and will have easy access to the multi-county Delmarva Community Transit network. At this time 61 units of housing are in the development phase.
The intergenerational center is planned for completion in July of this year. As such, Delmarva Community Services continues to encourage contributions to support the planned Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Intergenerational Center. Mr. Hollis, in his new role encourages donations to this worthy cause. He states ” Delmarva Community Services, and particularly Santo Grande, are unsung heroes on the shore. The work they do for the less fortunate and the elderly in our community is admirable and so desperately needed. A donation to the new intergenerational center will further those efforts and be a worthy investment in the wellbeing of our friends and neighbors.
Please reach out to us at 410-221-1900 or andy@dcsdct.org. for more information or to arrange a tour of the project.”
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