Prior to the West Senior Center Dance, Iris, Elizabeth + Friend, and I got together on Friday and assembled 100 goody bags for the seniors. Each goody bag contained one bar of soap, one toothbrush, one toothpaste, and four chocolates. At the end, we had about forty remaining toothpastes and a bag full of chocolates. We decided it would be best to bring the remaining items (i.e Toothpaste and Chocolates) to the West Senior Center and have the seniors grab what they needed extra. Overall, I had a lot of fun putting together these goody bags. All of us were surprised at how fast we were able to finish.
The next day, Sylvia gave me, Elizabeth, Iris, and John a ride to West Senior Center. By the time we arrived, the seniors were just about to finish their lunch and it was now time for us to set up. We brought out the St. Patrick’s Day decorations, the Raffle Gifts, and the Oscar Awards to the West Senior Center multipurpose room. It was wonderful to see how some seniors volunteered to help us set up the decorations and serve the food. In regards to food distribution, our goal was to have each senior get at least one slice of pizza, one cookie, one tangerine, half a banana, and a cup of juice. At the end, all the remaining food was handed out to the seniors.
In regards to entertainment, we had a large group of seniors who chose to sing about two songs out loud. Both songs seemed to focus on hardships and peace, and this inspired a feeling of relief in all of us. After the seniors got a chance to sing, we announced the king and queen and gave out a few Oscar awards. We could tell these Oscar awards made a lot of seniors feel special, and this was great to see. To celebrate, we danced along to a few songs, and Chase was able to start a small dance circle.
At the end, we gave out raffle prizes. Rhiannon and I tried real hard to pick out gifts that we thought the winner would really appreciate. We handed out a few gift cards to Subway, Charles Jr., Taco Bell, Starbucks, etc., mugs and reusable coffee cups. Everyone seemed really happy and grateful for these gifts. Overall, I’m really glad the Life Course Scholar’s Program decided to make this year’s West Senior Center Prom an inclusive Healthy Aging Project (HAP), because it was mainly by getting the whole class involved that we succeeded in making this event so large-scale. :)
The next day, Sylvia gave me, Elizabeth, Iris, and John a ride to West Senior Center. By the time we arrived, the seniors were just about to finish their lunch and it was now time for us to set up. We brought out the St. Patrick’s Day decorations, the Raffle Gifts, and the Oscar Awards to the West Senior Center multipurpose room. It was wonderful to see how some seniors volunteered to help us set up the decorations and serve the food. In regards to food distribution, our goal was to have each senior get at least one slice of pizza, one cookie, one tangerine, half a banana, and a cup of juice. At the end, all the remaining food was handed out to the seniors.
In regards to entertainment, we had a large group of seniors who chose to sing about two songs out loud. Both songs seemed to focus on hardships and peace, and this inspired a feeling of relief in all of us. After the seniors got a chance to sing, we announced the king and queen and gave out a few Oscar awards. We could tell these Oscar awards made a lot of seniors feel special, and this was great to see. To celebrate, we danced along to a few songs, and Chase was able to start a small dance circle.
At the end, we gave out raffle prizes. Rhiannon and I tried real hard to pick out gifts that we thought the winner would really appreciate. We handed out a few gift cards to Subway, Charles Jr., Taco Bell, Starbucks, etc., mugs and reusable coffee cups. Everyone seemed really happy and grateful for these gifts. Overall, I’m really glad the Life Course Scholar’s Program decided to make this year’s West Senior Center Prom an inclusive Healthy Aging Project (HAP), because it was mainly by getting the whole class involved that we succeeded in making this event so large-scale. :)