On the Move

As a corporate relocation specialist, Tara Nielsen spent the majority of her career opening and closing doors for clients across the globe: India, Brazil, and Australia, to name a few.

Now, the long-time Laker has taken that experience and is channeling it back home by helping seniors with their relocation needs. “This gives me a way to connect with the community,” she says. “Helping seniors is very rewarding.”

As a recent empty nester and world traveler, Nielsen was primed to make a professional pivot that would resonate with her.

A bit of research led her to Caring Transitions, a niche franchise that walks seniors through the often-emotional and overwhelming experience of downsizing their homes, sorting through sentimental items, and moving into smaller spaces. She and her husband Brian, who still keeps a foot in his day job, went all in about a year ago, and the demand for downsizing continues to deliver. While the business is based in Parsippany, the couple services Mountain Lakes and the surrounding areas up to 10 miles.

“This is really about working with seniors and meeting them at their moment,” Nielsen says. “We try to make this transition as smooth and painless as possible.”

A Helping Hand 

Since launching the franchise, Nielsen has been tending to mostly widows, many of whom are coming to grips not only with their grief, but the reality of moving into a smaller space.

“These are a different set of challenges,” Nielsen says. “It can be a frightening time for seniors. Maybe someone lost a partner and they no longer have that person to turn to. That’s where we step in, to help them through this vulnerable time.”

While the move itself can seem daunting, so can the emotions that come with closing up a well-loved home and the floor-to-ceiling memories it contains.

“This is hard for clients and their family members,” she says. “You’ve maybe been in a house for 40 years and you have a lifetime of stuff, and it’s not just junk to be discarded.”

In dealing with emotional currency and her own desire to pay it forward, Nielsen tries to rehome as many items that she sees fit, packaging them as “thoughtful donations.”

“I’ll always find the right charity to take them,” she says.

Nourish.NJ is one such charity that she holds close to heart. The Morris County-based nonprofit works to combat food insecurity and provides housing support, workforce assistance, case management, and mental health connections. Seniors are particularly at risk for food insecurity, Nielsen says, citing data that shows 1 in 10 seniors in New Jersey struggle with access to food and 16% in Morris County attest to having run out of food.

“Food insecurity and poverty affect every corner of our community, often in unseen ways,” says Nancy Rudgers, corporate engagement manager at nourish.NJ. “At nourish.NJ, we meet people where they are—without barriers or judgement—proving access to healthy food and support services, while creating a welcoming space that offers dignity, stability, and hope when it’s needed most.”

For the second year, Caring Transitions is in the middle of launching their annual Handbags for Hunger campaign. The two-part endeavor involves a community-wide collection of gently used handbags, designer clothing, jewelry, and accessories. The collection effort is ongoing through Feb. 16. By the end of the month, the online charity auction kicks into gear, and the public can purchase gently-loved luxuries at www.CTBid.com.

“100% of the proceeds go directly to nourish.NJ,” Rudgers says.

Items that fall short of the auction will be donated to Dress for Success in Madison, a nonprofit that assists unemployed or underemployed women with job-readiness and outfits them with professional attire. It’s a win-win partnership between Caring Transitions of Parsippany and Sunrise Senior Living in Livingston that keeps seniors engaged in the auction as well.

“It’s fun for them to see their items in a new light or even watch the auction,” Nielsen says.

Last year’s auction netted $2,000 for nourish.NJ.

Finding Joy

Intentional acts of charity aside, Nielsen fancies herself a treasure hunter of sorts, and her finds usually have a story to tell. Due to her diligent donation philosophy, the New Jersey Youth Symphony Orchestra landed a number of musical instruments, stands, and there was even mention of a baby grand piano.

With a majority of clients who identify with the Silent Generation who are well into their eighth decade, Nielsen has come across a number of collectibles such as Llardos (porcelain figurines), Hummel figurines, coins, and dolls. China sets just come with the territory.

“They are very proud of these things,” Nielsen says of the seniors she helps. “They’ve collected them over decades, and it’s very hard for our clients who just assumed that their family members would want them, and they take it personally.”

Nielsen even finds a purpose for sewing machines through organizations like One World, One Love that help resettle refugees. “Many of these refugees use sewing machines to make their own clothes,” she says.

Some of her more memorable finds include a diamond emerald engagement ring and a Rolex, a surprise discovery made by a team member behind a bathroom cabinet. The items belonged to the adult child’s mother, who suffered from dementia and misplaced them.

“[The client] was so emotional when we brought it to him,” Nielson says. “He said that she was talking about the ring for years and assumed she lost it.”

A vintage Christmas tree topper was another great find for an adult child who set it aside to make new memories. Then there was the chess board with the crack and the proposal story that went along with it.

“This woman had lost her husband in March, and she got all teary eyed when we found it, Nielsen says. “She said that it was smacked against a table right before her husband’s proposal and she was so happy to relive the story.”

Nielson’s most recent find? A Cartier watch in a handbag found by an employee. The watch is, naturally, en route to the auction.

Sentimental contents aside, Nielsen also helps her clients make sense of the mundane aspects of moving, such as switching off the electricity or an existing landline. These are tasks that may have been handled by their late partner or other family members.

“Sometimes they’ll come to us after getting off the phone with a Realtor or having changed insurance carriers and they’re really proud of themselves,” she says.

While she and her husband own the franchise, it takes a village, or in this case, a team of 12, to keep it well, moving. The Nielsens two sons and Mountain Lakes High School graduates are involved, providing the muscle, while others bring specialty experience to the table, including a fellow mom who worked for Sotheby’s and helps out with the auction.

The business has proven cyclical in nature with summer being the busiest season. While Caring Transitions partners with assisted living facilities like Sunrise and The Oaks in Denville, Nielsen says most of her clients are simply moving into smaller spaces.

In Nielsen’s immediate future, it’s all auction, all the time, but the emotional rewards are all the more worth it.

For more information, go to www.caringtransitionsofparsippany.com.

Photographs courtesy of Tara Nielsen