What do you get when you hook a former Silicon Valley software developer up with a blueberry-loving hundred-year-old and roll up on an East Providence Dunkin’ Donuts looking for free pastries?

If you said anything other than a heartwarming, viral sensation that will restore a little bit of your faith in humanity — you guessed wrong.

While Edna Perkins, a resident of Winslow Gardens Assisted Living on Irving Avenue, had celebrated the actual 100th anniversary of her birth a few weeks back on Aug. 19 — for which she requested a quintessential Rhode Island dinner: a lobster dinner and an ice cold ‘Gansett — a celebration event held at Winslow on Sept. 25 to recognize all the recent birthdays of their residents also served as a chance to recap the delightful event that had occurred, and spread all over the internet, as a result of Edna’s trip to the ubiquitous coffee chain’s location near John Street and Taunton Avenue.

“Everybody knows that America runs on Dunkin,” said Rick Gamache, CEO of Aldersbridge Communities, which operates Winslow Gardens. “And Aldersbridge runs on heart. Dunkin is the fuel that keeps America going. Heart is the fuel that keeps Aldersbridge going. And when you put the two of them together, wow, it’s fantastic.”

It all started with a simple request by Edna to visit a Dunkin drive-thru, which she had apparently not done for quite some time, for her birthday. Thankfully, she had been put in touch with someone who was in the business of making the wishes of 100-year-olds come true.

Jack York, the aforementioned former software developer, left his career in Silicon Valley after achieving success selling computer hardware and programs to senior centers and assisted living facilities that helped elderly and differently abled individuals of all ages surf the web and use and enjoy technology.

He went on to start a new company called TaleGate, which strives to share the vibrant lives of senior citizens through video storytelling to try to “change the perception of aging and of senior living” through various means.

One of those ways is by driving around a large van outfitted with a bunch of cameras on board, ferrying people who are celebrating their 100th birthday, along with their friends or family members, to go do things they enjoy. York said his inspiration for the concept came from feeling regret over not getting to know his own father’s story (a WWII veteran) before he passed away.

The series, found on social media under “Vintage Voices”, has taken York, who is based out of Colorado, to 35 states across the country. And it recently took him to East Providence, driving around Edna Perkins and fellow recently-turned-100-year-old Winslow resident, Emmalou Kirchmeier.

What happens next is better seen for itself in the video that has since generated thousands of views and likes, and was played to the delight of the people who attended the event. The video shows York pull up to the Dunkin’ intercom and informs the person taking the order that Edna is turning 100, and asks if there were any deals or special items they might be willing to gift to her. Without hesitation, the person agrees, and asks what she would want.

“Well, I don’t want anything powdery, because I don’t want to get it all over me,” Edna says matter-of-factly.

Her daughter-in-law, Sheila, sitting in the back seat, suggests blueberry as a flavor she might enjoy. The Dunkin’ employee says they had that, or a blueberry muffin. Edna, thinking it over, admits she does like both options. York suggests perhaps they could offer her both, as “you only turn 100 once,” he says.

And what happened next left York especially impacted by the incident.
“None of this is staged. I just go through the drive-thru and bring up the fact we have a 100-year-old in the car…and when I got to the window, Sonya [Visinho, the manager] has the whole team in front of the window singing happy birthday to Edna, making sure she got more donuts than she ever could have dreamed of.”

York emphasized to the crowd of attendees that such an interaction is by no means a guarantee.

“I was in North Carolina about six months ago and we did the same thing,” he said. “And we drove through a McDonalds drive-thru and I tried to get an ice cream cone for the lady who had just turned 100. And they said no.”

The viral hit from the East Providence trip eventually gained the attention of Dunkin’ corporate, which organized the donation of 100 gift cards to Winslow Gardens staff, 100 pounds of coffee for the kitchen, and a variety of free baked goods — including, of course, 100 blueberry donuts in honor of Edna.

Upon learning of the celebration, where the entire Taunton Avenue branch Dunkin’ crew was invited to receive recognition from Mayor Bob DaSilva, York took a flight all the way from Colorado to speak and show his appreciation to them as well.

“It makes Dunkin’ look really good but it also elevates aging. Edna and Emmalou, these beautiful, brilliant 100-year-olds, it changes what people think about aging in a really subtle way,” he said to Visinho. “Just hat’s off to you, because it’s an instant call that a manager has to make — can we do this or not — and you did it in a way that I think really just elevates the whole Dunkin’ organization. Whatever Dunkin’ has as a ‘manager of the year’ or whatever, I think this should be your nomination.”

Mayor DaSilva said he had visited the branch multiple times, always finding the staff to be full of joy. He awarded Edna with a key to the city and handed out commendations to the Dunkin’ staff.

“What makes East Providence special are the people who comprise the community, who work here, who live here, and are members of the community,” he said. “What Dunkin’ Donuts did is just one example of what being a proud resident of East Providence means.”

Sheila Perkins, along with her husband Tom (one of Edna’s four children, along with Lloyd, Bob, and Dorothy), said that Edna grew up on a farm in Lincoln with three sisters; all of whom lived into their 90s or past 100. She has seven grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

Sheila said that Edna, who can’t see but is still mentally sharp and has retained her hearing, has been soaking up the newfound fame.

“She’s really enjoyed it,” she said. “She can’t see it, but I put it on the TV and she can hear it all and she just smiles, because she remembers it all.”