Students cook and serve a Thanksgiving meal for elders
Kalen Sager, environmental science senior and Katie O’Dowd, business senior serve a Thanksgiving meal at the SMILE Students Move Into the Lives of the Elderly event on Nov. 20, 2013. Students prepare an entire Thanksgiving dinner complete with various pies and sparkling cider and then serve to the members of the Uptown Shepherd Center and their families while enjoying music and other forms of entertainment.
November 20, 2014
Loyola University Community Action Program’s project, Students Moving Into the Lives of the Elderly, will host the annual Thanksgiving Party for senior citizens at the Uptown Shepard’s center for elders.
In recent years, the event has increased its affiliation with the LUCAP project. Students from Loyola will help to set up the dinner and decorations, as well as coordinate performances and entertainment. The event will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 21.
The Uptown Shepherd’s Center is a senior activity center open to individuals 60 years and older. Various activities, classes, exercises and lunches are available. Transportation to and from the Uptown Shepherd Center is provided to seniors. The center allows for socialization, mental and physical stimulation for its members. It also provides resources for dealing with aging and maintaining independence with dignity.
Sarah Tornay, sociology junior and former President of SMILE, still enjoys helping out several times a semester.
“It always makes my month to go to there and spend a whole Saturday with the seniors. The joy they bring is invaluable,” Tornay said.
Students who volunteer for the project on a regular basis go to the Uptown Shepherd’s Center once a month to host interactive events that bring volunteers and senior citizens together.
The Nov. 21 event is the largest event for the project during the fall semester. It brings together the spirit of Thanksgiving with warm service and cross-generational interaction.
SMILE is one of LUCAP’s oldest projects, and in 2009, a new program under the same name and model was started by the Loyola University Chicago community, who were inspired the LUCAP project here in New Orleans.
In an interview with Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, founder of the Loyola Chicago program The Clare Corner, Schmidt said that it’s important to be involved projects aimed toward working with elders in the community.
“I think the more we can spread SMILE, the better. The more we promote this intergenerational communication, the better the society is going to be,” Schmidt said.
