The Senior Smiles Club is a new club introduced to the Academy this school year. Julia Calderaro ’26 came up with the idea at the beginning of the school year. Julia wanted to start a club where students could bridge connections with the elderly and club members could form valuable connections with them. Julia collaborated with Madelyn Riordan ’26 as her vice-president to bring the idea to life. In December, the club visited Brookdale Senior Living, which is located in Florham Park. The club brought supplies and Christmas cheer to make Christmas wreaths with the residents. Christmas music was playing, and everyone was busy at work making their beautiful wreath. The residents made these wreaths to decorate their doors to enhance the Christmas spirit.
The event went exceedingly well, and the club plans to visit again soon. The next event will have a Valentine’s Day theme. Club members will help residents make a Valentine’s themed craft while getting to know one another and bridging connections. In addition to the event at Brookdale, Senior Smiles had a very successful bake sale to kick off the club as a whole. The club plans on holding additional fundraisers soon to raise money for events at Brookdale.
Brookdale also has a volunteer program that allows those 16 years or older to come in for volunteer hours and spend time with their residents. Volunteers do simple activities such as gardening to help the older generation connect with those in the younger generation. The opportunity to volunteer was made available to all club members who meet the age requirement.
Making connections with the elderly can add a little bit of joy to their day or even lead to meaningful conversations and deeper connections— that’s why Senior Smiles is excited to coordinate even more events at Brookdale Senior Living shortly. Senior Smiles is a good club for those who want to be involved in community outreach, receive volunteer hours, and do good for the community in general! Not only do the senior citizens benefit, but the club members will bridge connections and learn lessons from the elders that they will have for life.
