Cards from the Cub Scouts.

Did you know that May is Older Americans Month? (http://olderamericansmonth.org/) This year’s theme is Older Americans: Connecting the Community. The theme focuses on how older adults “bring inspiration and continuity to the fabric of our communities.” Seniors, their history and their wisdom are the fabric of our communities and we love to plan activities that “weave” our seniors into a tapestry of younger populations.

Yesterday, our favorite Girl Scout Troop, 1986 Heart of the Hudson, joined us for a truly inspirational day. This year, for the first time, a Cub Scouts troop also participated in our event. It was really something to see how the Girl Scouts helped this new group of 7–8 yr old boys become comfortable with seniors. It’s also wonderful to see how much the seniors enjoy being with the youngsters. One senior reminisced about her days in the Girl Scouts and another senior remembered the Cub Scout song from his youth and sang it proudly in Spanish.

Our Cub Scout Agenda for the day.

The Girl Scouts planned a full day of events and they worked with our seniors to create In-Home Activity Kits for homebound seniors in VNSNY CHOICE (http://2011.vnsnychoice.org). It was heartwarming to see our seniors giving back to the community with the help of the Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts. Here are some details about the event, reported by Victoria, who’s been coming to our center for the past four years…

“Hello, I’m Victoria and I am a Girl Scout in Troop 1986 Heart of the Hudson. Today my troop went to the VNSNY CHOICE Adult Day Center to spend our day off from school with our great friends. We planned a tea party, including tea, finger sandwiches, a little sherbet, mini quiche and of course Girl Scout Cookies. After the tea party, we had an intergenerational activity to work with the members to make activities for the homebound seniors. We introduced my brother’s Cub Scout den from Pack 5 White Plains to help us and the seniors. It was so fun to work together to put word finds, puzzles, jewelry kits, discussion cards and a plant-your-own-flower bulb into reusable bags for the homebound. Our afternoon talent show was one of our best. We had two cello performances, a guitar solo with original music, piano, dancing that included funk, tap, a bit of grunge and bollywood. The talent show is our number-one favorite thing to do, even the Cub Scouts did an impromptu break out dance. I have so much fun performing with the seniors. We can’t wait until next year!”

A special heartfelt thanks to our Girl Scout and Cub Scout friends and to the parents who work so hard to make this happen every year! Thanks for helping our older adults continue to “weave” into the community!