After suffering a setback in the corporate world, Franca Sparapani decided to work to enrich her community and comfort to some of the most vulnerable seniors in her community.
She founded the Adult Activity and Respite Centre in Greenfield Park in Montreal’s South Shore.
“I’m grateful, I’m feeling blessed, I love the seniors — they always have a beautiful story to tell, I feel blessed at the end of the day,” Sparapani told Global News.
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She opened the for-profit service after she lost her job as a manager at Sunlife.
“I worked in the corporate world for 26 years and it was not fulfilling,” she said.
“I feel gratitude that I have the opportunity to actually do this I feel blessed to be able to help others.”
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The founder admits she took a leap of faith when she opened the centre two years ago.
It turned out to be one of the best decisions of her life.
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The majority of clients live with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.
The day centre gives caregivers a place to bring their loved ones when they need a little break.
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“It’s mental stress, it’s physical stress for them, they’re trying to juggle their children, their jobs their appointments,” said Sparapani.
“The constant feedback I receive is that they’re at home, in front of a TV or they’re sleeping, so I wanted to make it a fun place for them to come and just interact and enjoy themselves.”
“To have some fun, interact with different people and perform different activities physical or cognitive.”
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Donna Tremblay nominated Sparapani to be featured in Global News’ Great Montrealer profiles.
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“She’s loving. She’s always looking for new fun things for them to do,” said Tremblay, who now volunteers at the centre.
She had desperately been looking for a resource when her own mother fell sick.
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“There were no day centres out here on the South Shore and in English you cannot find many services,” she explained.
Sparapani also receives help from the South Shore Community Partners Network and her many volunteers — many of whom helped her keep things afloat when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
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“I said to my husband, if it had been a couple of months prior I would have had to close because I had only been open a few years,” she said.
“They ran the show for me because I was in chemotherapy from June up until October.”
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Despite all the setbacks that have come her way, Sparapani said she always finds a way to laugh through it, so she can continue sharing her joy with the seniors in her care.
“At the end of the day, I believe your attitude towards anything that comes your way in life, you’re always going to have storms, you have to look at the positive, the silver lining,” she told Global News.
“I believe in that. I mean, what’s the alternative? To be miserable — and you know I just can’t do negative.”
There are so many Great Montrealers around us. If you know someone who should be profiled as part of Global News’ Greater Montreal campaign, don’t forget to nominate them!
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