Members of the National Honor Society from Greater Latrobe went to Twin Lakes Rehabilitation Center to share some holiday joy. One group sang different classic Christmas carols for the staff and patients while the other group did festive activities.
Coco Tuscano helped with the group activities. To prepare for the trip to the nursing home Coco attended a meeting that the NHS that proposed making gift bags for the residents. For the National Honor Society everyone donated one item to make gift bags for the patients including socks, coloring books, crossword puzzles, card decks, and pens.
Everyone started out by making gingerbread houses. Then the next group activity was bingo and the patients did that for an hour. There were different prizes that could be won for winning bingo.
Coco talks about how enjoyable the environment was. “It was a really nice place to be at, the staff was so helpful and understanding and all the people at the residency were kind and welcoming,” said Coco.
Coco emphasises that the patients and staff were grateful. “The patients and staff showed their gratitude and thanked us heavily,” said Coco. They even asked all the NHS members to come back for easter.
Izzy Kesler also attended the Nursing home and she was a part of the singing group. She sang along with Jack Dixon, Marie Patterson, and Ben Fearer. This group prepared by learning their parts by themselves and then eventually, the morning of, blending together and rehearsing.
Izzy loved how welcoming the environment was. “They thanked us countless times for coming, and were extremely welcoming and accommodating to whatever we needed,” said Izzy. The patients and staff were so grateful.
Izzy also talks about how she had a memorable experience after finishing a song. “One patient in particular had a very hard time speaking, but a staff member translated to us that he said, “Thank you, I will never forget this,”’ said Izzy. Izzy felt so touched after hearing this.
Izzy learned so much from this experience. “Singing Christmas carols can bring so much joy. There are so many more options to provide joy that we should be taking part in.” Izzy believes that everyone as a community should spread Christmas joy anyway they can. Every little thing is taken for granted sometimes and this shows how we can appreciate those moments.
This NHS trip brought a lot of joy to many people. These students took charge in their community and wanted to share the holiday spirit. The nursing home was so thankful and had so much fun with these festive activities.
