Livino Mantilla unfortunately will be alone for the upcoming holidays. The 65-year-old North Bergen resident’s wife, Maria, is caring for her sick brother in their native Ecuador. His son, Jose, lives in Venezuela.
“I will be by myself,” Mantilla said, through the help of an interpreter.
It will be the first time he will spend Christmas alone since he arrived in the United States a decade ago and then moved to North Bergen six years ago. Because he lives on a fixed income, Mantilla hasn’t had many chances to speak to his wife or his son for the last two months.
That was, until last Sunday, when Mantilla was able to participate in Merrill Lynch’s “Christmas Calls” program. The annual program allows senior citizens the opportunity to place free long distance telephone calls to loved ones for the holidays all over the world.
The program began in 1980 when William Schreyer, then the president of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, proposed the idea that Merrill Lynch offices be opened on Christmas Day so senior citizens could make phone calls worldwide. From its humble beginnings at One Liberty Plaza in Manhattan, with eight volunteers helping 100 seniors, the program has grown to include 173 domestic and 25 international branches throughout the world, including countries such as Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. The largest turnout of seniors takes place in Jersey City, where this year approximately 3,400 seniors were shuttled into their downtown Exchange Place headquarters via chartered buses, given breakfast, a box lunch and a free tote bag, but more importantly, were able to spend 45 minutes, making as many free long distance phone calls as possible in that span.
Mantilla was so moved to speak with both his wife and son that he could barely talk about it later.
“It’s very emotional for me,” Mantilla told his interpreter, Merrill Lynch volunteer Dario Uribe. “It’s really hard for me to say how I feel. I’m very happy to have the opportunity to talk to my family. I think this is fantastic. I can’t believe how easy it was.”
Uribe was glad that he could help Mantilla, who was crying as he spoke.
“It really feels good that we’re able to help so many people during this time of year,” said Uribe, who is a director of fixed income for Merrill Lynch. “If I can act as a translator and help a few people, that’s all that matters.”
Several North Bergen senior citizens participated in the program, although some found making the calls to their native land being next to impossible. Many of the residents had relatives in Cuba, but the phone lines were so jammed that it was impossible to get through.
“I tried and tried to get through, but it was impossible,” said North Bergen senior Ana Velazco. “I tried to call my cousins, but I couldn’t get through. That always happens when you try to call Cuba. I don’t know why. I called yesterday and told them that I was calling, but can’t get through today. It would have been nice.” Pura Gonzalez also had the same difficulty and was also choked up with emotion.
“I couldn’t call my sister in Cuba,” Gonzalez said. “Other than that, it’s a very nice day for all of us.”
Gonzalez was able to place a call to her aunt and cousin in Spain. Other North Bergen seniors were able to place domestic long distance calls. Elizabeth Hock called her niece in Virginia. “It costs too much to call often, so it was nice to call today,” Hock said. “It’s a terrific day. Everyone is so pleasant. They’re all so nice to you. It’s the third year I’ve been here and I look forward to it every year.”
Ann Severson called relatives in Illinois.
“It had been a while since I called them,” Severson said. “I’m glad that I got the opportunity.”
Theresa Fucci called her sister in Boca Raton, Fla.
“She just came out of the hospital, so she was surprised to hear from me,” Fucci said. “I spent about 20 minutes just seeing how she was doing. I really can’t afford to call her often, so this was good for me.”
According to Merrill Lynch senior vice president Art Thomas, giving the seniors the chance to call is the goal of the program. “We feel like we’re able to give something back to the community,” said Thomas, who enjoyed his 10th year participating in the Christmas Calls program. “It’s part of Merrill Lynch’s principle and we take it very seriously. So we give up a day, but we’re able to get a lot more back. You watch the tears fall down their faces, by simply getting a chance to talk to their loved ones. If that doesn’t get you, then nothing will.”
Managing director Steve Davenport agreed.
“Probably this year more than any other, it was important for us to have this day,” said Davenport, who manages the office that faces the lower Manhattan skyline. “We’re able to help these people enjoy their holidays in a very modest way. I think a lot of them come to expect this as part of their holiday and they were able to find this tradition still intact. In terms of ethnicity here, we have representatives from almost every part of the world. And we’re able to have translators from so many different languages.”
Rosa Grassi organizes the volunteer efforts from Merrill Lynch employees. Grassi is the director of community development services and community relations. She spent most of the day running around the facility, making sure every senior felt like they were at home.
“We do have a lot of volunteers that help out in a huge way,” Grassi said. “It’s a collective team effort. We have seniors from all of Hudson County’s municipalities here today. As much preparation it takes and as much running around that I do, it’s all worthwhile, especially when you get to see the faces of the people who were able to reach their loved ones.”
Like Livino Mantilla.
“I miss my family,” Mantilla said. “I want to be with them, but I can’t.”