Seniors Share Wisdom; Mullan Students Offer Fun

Ida Brophy’s room at Southcrest nursing home is a gallery of children’s art.

“I love children. I always have,” Brophy said.

The white-haired, green-eyed Southcrest resident keeps every sequined crown, every place mat, every shamrock bouquet and every Christmas card that fifth- and sixth-graders at Mullan Road Elementary have made her for the past few years.

Since 1991, Mullan Road and the Southcrest Specialty Care Center on the South Hill have been partners in a program that pairs young and old, said Principal Paul Stone.

At the start of each school year, more than 70 children volunteer to visit residents once a month.

This year, their efforts didn’t go unnoticed. The Partners and Pals program was chosen by Southcrest’s parent corporation, Unicare, as Group Volunteers of the Year. The competition has categories for groups, adults and young adults.

More than 180 groups were nominated nationwide for the honor.

Unicare facilities are paired with Boy and Girl Scouts, Rotary Clubs and church groups, said Amanda Hill, director of therapeutic recreation at Southcrest.

The award was presented to Hill and Allison Barber, the program’s coordinator, Tuesday at Mullan Road’s annual year-end awards ceremony.

On Monday, a devoted cadre of parents, who made sure student-volunteers had rides to Southcrest every Wednesday afternoon, were honored with a pizza and ice cream party.

Bonnie Solomon’s 11-year-old twins, Kendra and Megan, were volunteers this year. Solomon was a driver.

“It’s been an interesting experience for them to work with the elderly,” Solomon said.

“We’ve lived overseas for the past seven years, so they haven’t had a chance to live with their grandparents.”

Kendra Solomon said she enjoyed getting to know the residents.

“We do crafts. I would definitely do it next year,” she said.

Activities also include dancing and planting flowers, said Shelby Raabe, 10.

“We pulled them in their wheelchairs to make them start moving,” Shelby said. “We just had fun.”

In addition to sharing activities, students say they have learned a wealth of information and wisdom about careers, history and the experiences of many Southcrest residents.

“They tell you a lot about their lives,” said John Copeland, 10. “A lot of people had different jobs. Some had kids.”

“Stephan worked on the railroad,” said John, referring to Stephan Derr , a new Southcrest resident.

“When I was their age, we never had a program like this. So the only thing I did was to get into trouble,” Derr said.

Ferris singers to perform in Europe

The Ferris chamber choirs, about 30 students, will spend most of June performing in Europe with choir director Paul Brueggemeier.

The choir will perform at the Austrian Music Festival June 19 in Innsbruck and then at cathedrals in Munich, Paris and Canterbury before performing at the British Music Festival in London June 27-28.

“It’s great to see that we can be in these historical places and still give a gift in return,” Brueggemeier said.

Students raised $3,000 each to pay for the trip.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing England a lot,” said junior Sara Maleki. “I like the accents a lot. I’ll be able to speak their language.”

Junior Scott Nichols, 18, said he wanted to go to the Louvre in Paris.

Nichols said parents and Ferris faculty and staff gave the choir plenty of fund-raising possibilities.

LC student wins NASA scholarship

Lewis and Clark senior Christiana Pierce received a $1,600 Space Grant scholarship from the Space Grant Program at the University of Washington.

The scholarships, now in their sixth year, are funded by the NASA program at the UW. They allow winning students who maintain good grades to renew their awards every year for four years.

Winners are judged on their academic records and their aptitude for science, math or engineering.

Cheney Middle School scholars honored

On Monday, Cheney Middle School faculty honored 300 of its 850 students who achieved a 3.5 grade-point average or above during at least one of this year’s three quarters.

The assembly also honored Cheney Middle School students who won first place in the regional Science Olympiad competition this spring.

, DataTimes