‘Very rewarding’: Pottery club at assisted living facility works to support larger cause

MATTHEWS, N.C. — A group of about 20 residents at a local assisted and senior living facility is taking up a new hobby and helping others.

The Brookdale Weddington Park Pottery Club began in 2022. The group met weekly and only had a few members. Now, they have about 20 members.

“It just kinda blossomed out,” Sims Lynn, a member, said.

Donna Branham is the teacher for the club and volunteers at the facility. She speaks highly of the group’s work.

“They’re just very much perfectionists in what they want to do,” she said. “They take great pride.”

The group has a focus on connection and creativity, member Larry Glass said.

“I’ve enjoyed the camaraderie of the club,” he said. “I suspect they’re too generous with their praise, but it’s nice. Yeah, it is. I enjoy the club. I really do.”

But it has grown since its inception and now raises money for the Alzheimer’s Association.

“Great,” member Annamarie Wiesehahn said. “Great, to be able to contribute, you know, things that we have fun with.”

And members told Channel 9’s Elsa Gillis that the club has been important to them.

“I mean, let’s, let’s face it, we each have our own little problems, which is explanatory for why we’re in here,” Glass said. “But to be able to go beyond that and see the needs of other people... very rewarding.”

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