The Giving Heart club members, donning their Christmas garb to celebrate the season, spent Saturday at Independence Village of Plymouth, a senior living community, participating in a gingerbread house competition with residents.
Club Co-presidents Brooklyn Nicholson and Anna Kadish, Plymouth seniors, both are employed at Independence Village. They wanted to do more for the residents beyond their shifts. “We wanted to do whatever we could to bring in some joy,” said Nicholson. So they began the club in October 2022, hoping senior residents would benefit from interacting with high school students.
When naming the club, Nicholson and Kadish wanted the name to be a representation of what they do, so they came up with Giving Heart. Nicholson explained the meaning behind the name. “ [Club members] give a little bit of our heart to every resident so their hearts can be full as well.”
For club activities and snacks, Nicholson and Kadish often pay out of pocket, but when organizing events such as the gingerbread house competition, they work with activity coordinators at senior homes to cover the costs.
The club decided to hold the competition after the success of one it held in 2022. Both years resulted in a positive response from residents and students alike. Don and Jeanne Clemens, who have resided in Independence Village of four years, had positive things to say about the activities with the high school students. Jeanne Clemens said, “I like working with young people; it’s a lot of fun.”
Millie Damianv, a two-year resident of Independence Village, added, “I like having [high school students] around.”
In turn, members of Giving Heart are proud of the impact they have left on the residents. Alyssa Calabrese, Canton senior, said, “Being able to reach out to the senior citizen homes is such a special experience and truly fills you with so much joy seeing the smiles on [the residents’ faces]. Being able to be a part of something that the seniors look forward to every month is so heartwarming.”
Besides the gingerbread house decorating competition, Giving Heart also host game nights, a Wheel of Fortune activity and movie nights.
For students looking to get involved with Giving Heart or volunteering at senior citizen homes, Nicholson recommended, “[You can] have a one-to-one [conversation] where [you] listen to a resident’s story and then tell [your] own to form a relationship with them one on one.”
Teens wanting to join to interact with residents in senior living communities, Nicholson said, “Just show up and be yourself. Talk to the residents.”
The Giving Heart club meets every other Friday in Plymouth High School Room 104C from 2:30-3:30 p.m.
