Welcome to the new and improved Chomedey Seniors Club

"We are proud to be one of the longest-standing groups of Laval's English-speaking community, a vibrant organization striving to provide quality services for its 140 members," president Dave Beiner told Courrier Laval Weekly News in a recent interview.

Currently adjusting to some changes brought on by a decision to discontinue its affiliation with the Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors, the Chomedey Seniors Mini-Centre returns to its original title of The Chomedey Seniors Club, an open-to-all non-denominational organization founded in 1984 by Ruth Shaffer and her late husband Hymie.

"We had reached a point where we just didn't think we were getting the services we were paying for," Mr. Beiner stated, adding that too often requests for help were not fulfilled by the Cummings Centre. "We were turning over $40 per member to the Centre but the services rendered did not reflect the attention our needs deserved," Mr. Beiner explained.

Herb Finkelberg, director and spokesperson for the Cummings Centre, expressed regret over the decision taken by the Chomedey Seniors Mini-Centre, but wished them well on their new path of autonomous operation.

"We are responsible for providing services for a number of organizations in the Montreal area and we have an obligation to prioritize needs, so when requests for services are received, we help those who are in need the most," Mr. Finkelberg told Courrier Laval Weekly News in a telephone interview, adding that in the opinion of the Cummings Centre, the Chomedey Seniors Mini-Centre was not at the top of the list of groups in need. "Far from it," he specified, "plus, we had a difficult time ascertaining the group's financial situation since our requests for a financial statement were not answered," he stated, adding that he nonetheless wished the group well in their efforts to serve seniors in Chomedey.