Each month, employees of Oak Crest Village Retirement Communities visit Christopher Place Employment Academy to interact over dinner with a group of men reclaiming their lives. The volunteers perform light meal preparation, take dinner to the Christopher Place dining room and serve the men. After all the men have their dinner, the volunteers fix a plate and sit and chat with the men.

Oak Crest Sales Director Lou Maranto learned about Christopher Place while serving on the Board of Directors for Catholic Charities. He now coordinates the monthly “Oak Crest” night.

“It’s more than serving meals at dinner time,” stated Maranto. “You really build a connection and spirit of fellowship with the participants of the program after a few visits. Sometimes we talk about sports; sometimes it’s just life in general. But either way, we all learn from each other.”

More than 2200 people live at Oak Crest Village, an Erickson full-service retirement community that promotes a vibrant lifestyle. Erickson Retirement Communities is one of the leading national developers of full-service retirement communities.