Edmonton man organizes vintage car parade for father and other residents in long-term care centre

Father’s Day will be a little different this year for dads living in long-term care homes.

But one Edmonton man is proving that with a little effort and some teamwork, different can still be special. He organized a parade involving some special vehicles on Friday with the hope of putting smiles on the faces of residents at a care home in the city.

Residents and staff lined up outside the St. Michael’s Long-Term Care Centre for a chance to get an up-close look at some classic cars.

“If there’s any demographic that can truly relate to the types of vehicles that we’re showing today, it’s the senior citizens of our city,” Andrichuk said.

With Father’s Day around the corner, Andrichuk got help from the Edmonton Antique Auto Club and St. Michael’s to organize the parade. He said it is meant to honour his father and all those who live in the home.

Lenny’s father, 94-year-old Stanley Andrichuk, lives with Alzheimer’s disease and this is the first Father’s Day he’ll be away from home.

“It’s a difficult transition to have him moved in here into a long-term care home, but the fact that once he’s here now he’s not only isolated, but alone so to speak, it’s been difficult on my mother and our family of course,” Lenny said.

It’s a change Lenny’s mother Olga Andrichuk still hasn’t been able to adjust to.

“We’ve been together for 66 years, it’s so hard,” she said. “This meant so much for us, because we’re not going to be spending Father’s Day together.”

The family said they are grateful for all those who came out to show their support.

“My heart breaks to see him go through what he’s going through, but I’m happy that people take the time to show their support and come out and visit us, to show what this means to them,” Olga said.