Sometimes “Community Room” is simply a phrase on a door or wall in a residence for older adults. At Beacon House in Boston, however, the Community Room truly lived up to its name on a chilly December Wednesday, hosting a festive holiday gathering for more than 50 residents.  

The innate elegance of the room was augmented with lights, wreaths, and seasonal table décor, including lavender plants resembling miniature Christmas trees and tall tapers glowing with simulated yet cheery flames. Sandwiches, wraps, salads, snacks, and sweets were laid out on long tables along one wall, while dozens of residents found seats at the tables around the room, telling stories, cracking jokes, and enjoying the warmth of each other’s company. In keeping with the spirit of the season, each resident received a gift card as they left the party. All of it was courtesy of Rogerson Communities Board Member Sarah Acer Allen and a group of her close friends.  

While Beacon House, a mixed-income community for older adults, has hosted modest holiday gatherings for residents over the years, in 2024 Sarah saw an opportunity to take the event to a new level, providing funding for the party, which she also hosted with friends from the Church of the Redeemer in Chestnut Hill. While all agreed that it was a success, she left the building that day feeling that she could do still more. 

“Last year, yes, I was happy to write a check and support this Beacon House holiday party,” she says, “but the staff did way too much—they don’t need that excess work. So this year I said, I’ll just take care of it.” 

Which is exactly what she did. Rallying help for the day wasn’t hard, she says, again gathering friends from her church—including former Rogerson Board Member and current Life Director Karla Todd Barrett—with a single email request. Together, they handled everything from food procurement and delivery to holiday decorations to set-up and clean-up, even bringing a collection of books from a friend’s bookstore as gifts. Perhaps most important for Sarah, however, was serving and listening to the residents of Beacon House. 

“For me, it’s the communication and the personal interactions,” she says. “It all comes down to really caring to hear someone’s story. That’s what I like to do.” 

Of course, every holiday party needs music, perhaps the only aspect of the day that Sarah and her crew left to others. Those others were three violinists known as the Pinkney Trio: Maya, age 10; Samara, age 9; and Catalaya, age 7. These young musicians from nearby Pinkney Street on Beacon Hill, accompanied by their mother, as well as Jim McDonald on piano and Liz Kaplan on recorder, entertained the gathered residents with favorites from The Sound of Music like “Edelweiss” and “My Favorite Things,” as well as complex classical compositions like Jean-Joseph Mouret’s “Fanfare-Rondeau” (made famous as the theme from PBS’s Masterpiece Theater). Their performance drew repeated applause and smiles from everyone in the room and added an extra glow of holiday warmth to the day. 

“I would use the word ‘exquisite’,” one resident, Carol, said of the group’s performance, though she was quick to praise the rest of the event as well. “The food was lovely. Good choices, healthy. I’d give it an A-plus.”  

“They really exceeded our expectations,” added her friend Mary. “The food, the execution, the entertainment, the quality of everything, was definitely superior.” 

Resident Services Coordinator Alfreda Payne, who has worked at Beacon House for 35 years and has helped create countless celebrations and events for residents, was especially appreciative of the efforts of Sarah Acer Allen and her friends as the party wound down. 

“By this time, I’d have passed out!” she laughed, no doubt speaking for the rest of the Beacon House staff. “I’d be so tired I’d be dragging! It’s a lot of work.” 

For Sarah, the effort is worth it for the sense of meaningful connection that results.  

“I would love to work on more year-round volunteer opportunities,” she says. “Not always a party, but to just stop by and listen. I’ve spent a lot of time with the older generation—I always have at my church—and you realize that they just want to be heard.” 

If you’re interested in volunteering with Rogerson Communities, please click here.