This past Saturday on May 25th, my HAP group carried out our wellness event at the Gary & Mary West Senior Center from 9am-12pm! It went SO well and even better than we expected! In the beginning of this process, our group had envisioned free haircuts, makeup makeovers, and a fashion show as the foci of our event with a small clothing boutique for seniors to take what they need. However, things took a 180 and the free clothing boutique became the focus of our event along with a volunteer-staffed nail bar, face mask & massage bar, and coloring book station. We also put together 100 goody bags filled with small bottles of shampoo & conditioner, toothpaste, soap bar, razor, socks, and toothbrush. Our group was almost overly ambitious when planning this event, but we really wanted the best for our dear West Center seniors whom we had created a bond with.
My HAP group gathered at the West Center at around 8:10am. We set up 8 tables for the activity stations, folded the donated clothes into neat stacks, laid out all the jewelry, set up the photo area, and refilled all the goody bags with an extra pair of socks. Some curious seniors peeked through the windows and doors. We finally opened the doors at around 9:10am, and they all trickled in quite quickly. In the first 15 minutes, I stayed at the door welcoming each senior, introducing our group, and describing the stations. They seemed very delighted and thankful from the start. Little did we know, 30 minutes into the event, the clothing boutique and jewelry table were swamped with seniors. I remember standing there with my groupmate Joey, looking around the room and feeling blown away by how great the turnout was when it hasn’t even been an hour!
Many of the seniors grabbed a few pieces (or a bunch) of clothing and immediately left. It was about halfway through the event when the seniors began to slow down and start to enjoy the activity stations. I was in charge of taking photos throughout the event, so I didn’t have much of a chance to sit down to talk to people. However, I did notice and speak to a few seniors who stayed longer than the rest. There was Patricia, who found a beautiful jacket that looked like it was made for her. She also stayed to help my classmate with her Oral History Project HAP and patiently untangled a bunch of jewelry. There was Laura, who was smiling throughout the whole event. When I offered to take a photo of her, she laughed and told me to step further back so that I wouldn’t capture her white hair in the photo. There was Mr. Davis, who joked around with me throughout the whole 3 hours. I told him to pick up anything he needs from the clothing boutique, but he told me how a lot of the seniors there needed the clothing a lot more than he does. There was Yemane, who I met back in January during our first West Center visit! I was so happy that he also recognized me and wished me well in my post-grad journey. Lastly, I sat with Didi in the final 15 minutes of the event. She was at the coloring book station for a majority of the time and beckoned to me to come over. She shared little stories with me about her collection of coloring books and her friend’s journey with cancer. In the end, she gifted me a little purple and white crocheted heart. My heart was already so full seeing all the wholesome interactions in the room, and Didi’s gesture just topped everything off with even more love.
Overall, I rate my HAP an 11/10. We were too busy to get a headcount but all 100 of our goody bags were given away, and we gifted our nail polish and coloring book materials at the very end. I asked some seniors about what they thought, and every single one of them loved it and said that this kind of event doesn’t happen at the West Center. I’m so grateful for all my passionate team members, my professors with their unending support and donations, the seniors at Casa de Manana for being so generous, Bombas for donating 200+ pairs of socks, Chloe’s friend for donating 100 toothbrushes, the 4 Intergenerational Connections members for volunteering, and of course, the West Center and its wonderful staff for allowing us to use their space. I was the first to meet Donna at the front desk on this day, and she told me how this was the second time she’s seen the seniors so excited and loud (the first time was at their Bingo event!). That was definitely reassuring and wrapped up our Saturday on a good note. :)
My HAP group gathered at the West Center at around 8:10am. We set up 8 tables for the activity stations, folded the donated clothes into neat stacks, laid out all the jewelry, set up the photo area, and refilled all the goody bags with an extra pair of socks. Some curious seniors peeked through the windows and doors. We finally opened the doors at around 9:10am, and they all trickled in quite quickly. In the first 15 minutes, I stayed at the door welcoming each senior, introducing our group, and describing the stations. They seemed very delighted and thankful from the start. Little did we know, 30 minutes into the event, the clothing boutique and jewelry table were swamped with seniors. I remember standing there with my groupmate Joey, looking around the room and feeling blown away by how great the turnout was when it hasn’t even been an hour!
Many of the seniors grabbed a few pieces (or a bunch) of clothing and immediately left. It was about halfway through the event when the seniors began to slow down and start to enjoy the activity stations. I was in charge of taking photos throughout the event, so I didn’t have much of a chance to sit down to talk to people. However, I did notice and speak to a few seniors who stayed longer than the rest. There was Patricia, who found a beautiful jacket that looked like it was made for her. She also stayed to help my classmate with her Oral History Project HAP and patiently untangled a bunch of jewelry. There was Laura, who was smiling throughout the whole event. When I offered to take a photo of her, she laughed and told me to step further back so that I wouldn’t capture her white hair in the photo. There was Mr. Davis, who joked around with me throughout the whole 3 hours. I told him to pick up anything he needs from the clothing boutique, but he told me how a lot of the seniors there needed the clothing a lot more than he does. There was Yemane, who I met back in January during our first West Center visit! I was so happy that he also recognized me and wished me well in my post-grad journey. Lastly, I sat with Didi in the final 15 minutes of the event. She was at the coloring book station for a majority of the time and beckoned to me to come over. She shared little stories with me about her collection of coloring books and her friend’s journey with cancer. In the end, she gifted me a little purple and white crocheted heart. My heart was already so full seeing all the wholesome interactions in the room, and Didi’s gesture just topped everything off with even more love.
Overall, I rate my HAP an 11/10. We were too busy to get a headcount but all 100 of our goody bags were given away, and we gifted our nail polish and coloring book materials at the very end. I asked some seniors about what they thought, and every single one of them loved it and said that this kind of event doesn’t happen at the West Center. I’m so grateful for all my passionate team members, my professors with their unending support and donations, the seniors at Casa de Manana for being so generous, Bombas for donating 200+ pairs of socks, Chloe’s friend for donating 100 toothbrushes, the 4 Intergenerational Connections members for volunteering, and of course, the West Center and its wonderful staff for allowing us to use their space. I was the first to meet Donna at the front desk on this day, and she told me how this was the second time she’s seen the seniors so excited and loud (the first time was at their Bingo event!). That was definitely reassuring and wrapped up our Saturday on a good note. :)