Intergenerational Valentine’s Day in Park Forest
Valentine’s Day was extra sweet for seniors at the Rich Township Shirley Green Senior Center in Park Forest after they received Valentine’s Day cards Tuesday made for them by National Junior Honor Society students of the O.W. Huth Middle School in Matteson.
Students joined the seniors for a luncheon sponsored by the Rich Township Senior Services at noon and presented them cards and helped serve lunch and cupcakes.
It was the second time that students from Matteson School District 162 have visited the center, which provides activities and services for seniors in the south suburbs.
Joeann Hailey, 79, was happy to see the students and said that the generations need to interact more with each other.
“We can be a big help to them they can and they can be a big help to us,” Hailey said.
Trinity, Shepard surprise student with 4-year scholarship
Staff at Shepard High School in Palos Heights conspired with Trinity Christian College admissions representative Kyra Khan on a secret mission last week: surprising senior Jessica Byrdak with the news she’d won the Founder’s Scholarship, a full four-year award covering all expenses.
Shepard counselor Helen Pappas made the arrangements for school officials, the Byrdak family and Khan to walk into Byrdak’s Advanced Placement Statistics class where Khan delivered the news.
Trinity awarded only two such awards this year.
Richards JROTC passes muster
Nerves rattle this time of year for new Navy JROTC students at Richards High School in Oak Lawn. For weeks they’ve known an officer will visit for the annual personnel inspection.
Inspection involves an active-duty Navy officer quizzing students on military knowledge, reviewing the neatness and presentation of their uniforms and supervising a traditional pass and review ceremony. For students who have never experienced inspection, the prospect can produce some anxiety.
Richards JROTC instructors Doug Groters and Dennis Reynolds offered guidance and assurance while students who have completed inspection in past years provided leadership.
When inspection day arrived, Navy Commander. Mike Tooker used inspection as a chance to motivate students and calm their nerves. The students passed and some students earned medals for their presentation.
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The JROTC operates as an academic class with curriculum that centers on leadership development, citizenship, U.S. and military history and knowledge, drill rehearsal, marksmanship and fitness. Registering for JROTC does not include enlisting in the U.S. military after graduation.
New dementia support group in Beverly
Caregiving need not be a lonely journey. A new Caregiver Support Group at 6 p.m. Feb. 21, in the Smith Village Club Room, 2320 West 113th Place in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood.
Participation is free and open to everyone who is a caregiver in any way for someone with Alzheimer’s disease or another kind of dementia. Alzheimer’s Association volunteer Bridget Murphy will lead the group along with Smith Village resident Alice Keene, who cared for her husband, James, who passed away in 2020.
Participants can share practical caregiving information, including tips on managing stress and maintaining their own physical and mental health. The group offers a confidential, safe and supportive atmosphere. More information is at 773-474-7300 or SmithVillage.org.
LARC offers memorial bricks
LARC, a nonprofit organization providing services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, is selling personalized memorial pavers that will be displayed in their newly developed Memorial Garden in Lansing. These engraved bricks are $200 each and will be personalized and installed in time for summer 2023.
LARC’s Memorial Garden came to fruition last spring, as volunteers from The Lansing Garden club planted over 34 native species of plants, 18 bushes, and 1 tree. Diane Lund, Garden Club founder, was instrumental in creating the schematics for the project, with plants purchased by LARC.
The Garden is located just outside LARC’s client lunchroom, on the west side of their Campus located at 19043 Wentworth Avenue. Patrons will find that the garden is easily accessible from their West parking lot. At the corner of the garden, there is a memorial bench sitting upon a bed of rustic-colored landscape pavers where the final engraved pavers will be installed.
The bricks are available through March 10 and may be personalized in memory, or in honor of someone special. Information is at www.larclansing.com or 708-474-1540.
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