The Charbonneau Villager Newspaper 2020_Mar_issue Villager newspaper | Page 20

20 THE CHARBONNEAU VILLAGER
March 2020
SpringRidge at
Charbonneau Sunshine
Service
By KERRY PHILLIPS By JOAN VEDDER
Residents lucky to
impart knowledge,
learn from younger
generation
Good fortune means
being grateful for
what we have
W
hen longtime Portland
resident Luann Mc-
Greevey read about
SpringRidge at Char-
bonneau partnering with a local ele-
mentary school for an intergenera-
tional project, she got involved to
help shape young minds. She didn’t
realize it would also be a learning
experience for her and her neigh-
bors, and she feels lucky to have
been part of the “living history”
initiative.
Each winter, fourth graders from
Lowrie Elementary School visit the ac-
tive retirement community to inter-
view residents to learn about their
childhoods, families and careers.
“I initially signed up out of curiosi-
ty,” said Luann, who recently partici-
pated for the third time. “I’m so glad I
did. The children were absolutely won-
derful and so well prepared.”
Fellow resident, Don Cook, also par-
ticipated this year after being im-
pressed with last year’s class. He
found the interaction with the children
refreshing.
“We hear so many negative things
about today’s youth,” he explained. “It
was a breath of fresh air to see how re-
spectful and polite they were.”
According to educator Adriana
Aivazis, the objectives of the project
are to teach students to engage with
older adults, bond over shared experi-
ences, and build and present new
knowledge.
“It’s important for our students to
have a connection to our community,”
she said. “Also, the children learn from
the residents at SpringRidge and ap-
preciate the value of their life experi-
ence. This allows our students to con-
COURTESY PHOTO
SpringRidge’s Luann McGreevey with Lowrie student Emmy McCullaugh.
nect school to real life, gives them a
purpose for writing and a real live au-
dience to share their work with.”
About two or three students are as-
signed to a resident for interviews. Lu-
ann recalls how one student said she
immediately felt a connection to her
upon learning they shared the same
birthday!
After the interviews are conducted,
the student groups work individually
to create a “book” about the resident’s
life. The students then invite residents
to their school, where the living histo-
ry projects are presented.
“They did a spectacular job,” said
Don, who served as a Navy seaman
aboard a battleship. “I’m really hon-
ored to have met them.”
Both he and Luann have kept each
of the “books” they’ve received over
the years.
“It’s right on my bookshelf,” she
said. “The kids put it together so nice-
ly and I love showing it off to others.
The program might be an hour or two
per year but it gives me such as boost.
It’s amazing to have this at Spring-
Ridge.”
For some residents, the bond with the
children extends beyond the project.
“One of the students came to visit
me last summer and brought her
grandmother to meet me,” said Luann,
a former registered nurse. “We en-
joyed a lovely lunch together.”
In addition to the Lowrie partner-
ship, SpringRidge offers numerous op-
portunities for residents to interact
and engage with the younger genera-
tion. The community hosts a variety of
concerts and performances from local
schools and hires teenagers from area
high schools to serve as part of the
Dining Services team and also offers
an annual scholarship program.
“It’s a great arrangement having
the teens at SpringRidge,” said Don.
“We all appreciate them so much. I
love learning about their interests and
sharing my history with them.”
Luann says it’s especially meaningful
not only for residents and students, but
because intergenerational programs can
have positive, rippling effects on society.
“Some young people don’t spend a lot
of time around older people so they may
feel bashful or uncomfortable when
they are with them,” she explained. “In-
tergenerational programs bring every-
one together and we all get to enjoy and
learn so much from each other.”
The SpringRidge at Charbonneau
campus offers a comprehensive menu
of lifestyle options including CARF-ac-
credited independent living as well as
assisted living and memory care ser-
vices. For more information or to
schedule a personal tour, please call
503-446-6250 or visit Spring-
RidgeatCharbonneau.com.
VEDDER
With March
upon us, can
we call it
spring yet? I
feel the strong
urge to garden
again and plan
for the scents
and colors
that are right
around the corner.
The theme this month is “good
fortune.” Depending on how you
look at it, that could be a lot of
things. Money probably would top
the list (we buy a lottery ticket ev-
ery week and it’s not working so
far!) But there are so many things
that money wouldn’t, or couldn’t,
buy. I think it’s important to be
grateful for what we do have and
not worry about what we don’t
have.
A safe place to live, surrounded
by caring friends and neighbors,
goes a long way. I think I just de-
scribed Charbonneau? We have a
cornucopia of clubs, activities and
services right at our fingertips. My
job is to keep reminding everybody
about the Sunshine Service and
what we offer. Our cupboard is
stocked with just about everything
you could need for recovery follow-
ing illness or surgery — walkers,
bedrails, toilet items, wheelchairs,
etc. Please remember, there is no
cost to use these items! You will be
asked to sign a “loan agreement”
with the understanding that these
things are to be returned in a time-
ly manner.
If you find that you need to keep
things a bit longer than usual, just
let us know and we’ll discuss it. We
See SUNSHINE SERVICE / Page 21