Community Club Serenity Garden nears completion

The Community Club of Canton was established in 1912 to “unite in fellowship and service all members of the community to the end that the highest interest of the town may be served.”

In 2018, then co-presidents Jilian Braga Hayes and Reuki Schutt proposed that the members of the club join together to raise funds from local businesses and community members to create what they hoped would be a garden — a space for healing, reflection and meditation. Substance use disorder (SUD) has taken countless lives throughout our country. Overdose deaths have touched many, and Canton families are no exception. The three main goals of the “garden” were to: 1.) Raise awareness of this disease; 2.) Provide healing/remembrance; and 3.) Raise money for the Canton Alliance Against Substance Abuse (CAASA), established in 2013.

It was later decided that this space would be called the Serenity Garden and that it would be a memorial for anyone who had died and left behind grieving loved ones. An engraved brick walkway to a patio would provide a “path to peace” with benches and trees around the area. Community members were given an opportunity to purchase plaques to be placed on the benches and trees or to have a loved one’s name engraved on a brick. The location would be visible and easily accessible from a public location.

Progress in sales was made, until the arrival and spread of the COVID-19 epidemic put a halt to this worthwhile project.

A more in-depth article will be published in a future edition of the Citizen explaining how this wonderful meditation, reflection and healing space eventually became installed. Many people came together to donate their time to design and install the Serenity Garden. Patti McDermott, current president of the Community Club, spearheaded the drive to move this project forward.

On November 12, McDermott plans to ask for permission from the Select Board to hold an “open house” for the public to visit the Serenity Garden, located on the grounds of the Armando Recreation Center on Pleasant Street. Tentatively, the hope is to hold a grand opening event on November 23. Watch for a more definitive announcement in the November 21 edition of the Citizen.

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Posted by Canton Citizen on Nov 7 2024. Filed under News, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.