Pandemic causes many event cancellations

#Middlebury #Seniors

Life might be slowly getting back to normal, but a number of things we anticipated won’t be happening now. Here are some of them:

The expired prescription-drug drop off – Once a year in my area, the drug store turns its parking lot over to an organization that collects and destroys old drugs. Not this year; it has already been canceled. A thought: Some local police departments have a collection bin in their facility, usually in the lobby. Call to inquire if your police department has one, or if they’re planning a drug event of their own.

The shredding events – Twice a year the bank and the senior center hire a company to bring in their shredding truck and accept all paper items to be shredded: old tax records, bills, documents with personal information on them. This is a very valuable service, and unfortunately, around here those have been canceled. One way to get around this is to have your own shredder. They can be ordered online, typically for less than $40. Learn the difference between strip cut, cross cut and confetti cut. Pictures can be deceptive, so read the specs for the machine. Some will shred only small receipts.

Plays and dinners – Once you hear that an event you’d paid for is being canceled, start right away to get your money back. The group might ask that you let them keep your money for their expenses, saying you can claim it as a donation on your taxes. You might consider it, but don’t assume you can get a credit for the same event next year. Better to get your money in hand now.

There are so many other events – senior games and fitness clinics, summer banquets and dances, the legal help event, monthly tech help – all likely canceled for the foreseeable future.

Tip: Call the organization anyway. They might have found a way to safely hold their events.

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