Community Living Campaign Holding Going Away Party For Connector Extraordinaire Patti Spaniak-Davidson
There will be a virtual farewell event this evening for Patti Spaniak-Davidson, the longtime leader of the popular Cayuga Community Connectors program.
Patti Spaniak-Davidson, the first “connector” for the Cayuga Community Connectors program, is moving to the East Coast. To send her off, the program’s parent nonprofit organization Community Living Campaign is holding a jam-packed virtual event with photos, memories, video, songs and more to celebrate on Friday, March 19 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
Starting in 2014, Spaniak-Davidson led the Cayuga Community Connectors, a program to engage seniors in the neighborhood started by Rev. Glenda Hope. She worked out of Bethel Church, which served as a drop-in center to offer support, resources and connection with their seniors.
Since then, Miraloma Park, Inner Sunset, Sunnyside, Crocker Amazon, Midtown Terrace and other neighborhoods have started their own community connector programs.
“Patti’s energy and optimism are contagious,” Judy Goddess told the Ingleside Light. “She has the ability to turn every occasion — even her wedding to Tyler Davidson — into a party, a community party — complete with food, music and photos. Was she ever without her camera? Whatever she was up to, we all wanted to be touched by that gold dust.”
Spaniak-Davidson and her husband are moving to Hillsborough, North Carolina next week to be close to her family and old friends.
“I came here at 50 years old, and now leaving at 60 — and I can honestly say it was one of the best decades of my life,” Spaniak-Davidson told the Ingleside Light. “I found an amazing job with the Community Living Campaign (that didn’t feel like work); it felt like I created a family of friends in the most beautiful city.”
At the farewell event, participants will be able to submit photos to create a scrapbook for Spaniak-Davidson.
“She’s been an incredible presence in this city, and I, for one, will sorely miss her,” Goddess added.
