A $5,000 donation by Carlton House to the Oak Bay Seniors Activity Association was met with stunned silence by a surprised group of seniors at a recent meeting.
The donation, which will go towards replacing the sound system inside the Garry Oak room at Monterey Centre, was made at the association’s annual general meeting on Monday, March 10.
“There was dead silence and there were 53 people in the room for the AGM,” said association president Ena Cooke. “People couldn’t get over it. It was a very generous donation.”
Cooke said the current sound system, consisting of old speakers mounted in two corners of the room, is of poor quality and has been in need of replacing for years.
“There are these two big things booming out but the sound won’t reach the entire room,” Cooke said. “People sitting in the back or on the side couldn’t hear anything.”
A number of smaller speakers will be purchased and installed throughout the room, along with other sound system equipment.
Carlton House community relations manager Alanna Hardinge-Rooney said the donation was made because they wanted to help out the seniors’ association and show their support.
“A lot of our residents are members there,” Hardinge-Rooney said. “We give out community donations every year … and we wanted to keep it a little more local this time.
“We wanted to give back to the community and continue developing that relationship that we already have with the (seniors’ centre).”