Senior volunteers and local students to present inter-generational Black History Month program

February 19, 2015

COLUMBIA, SC. Senior Resources is collaborating with Burton Pack Elementary School to present an inter-generational program commemorating Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday and Black History Month.

On February 23, 2015, at 10 a.m., senior volunteers and students in grades 3-5 will present skits celebrating the lives and work of Martin Luther King and several influential African-American women, including Maya Angelou, Sojourner Truth, Dawn Staley and Michelle Obama. The students will portray the historical figures as children, and the senior volunteers will portray them as adults.

The senior volunteers assisting with this Black History Month presentation are participants in Senior Resources’ three senior volunteer programs – Foster Grandparents, Senior Companions, and the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP). In addition, participants in Senior Resources’ Wellness Center programs will sew costumes for the senior actors to wear, while the students will create their own costumes. And, the art teacher at Burton Pack Elementary School will create backdrops for the skits to depict the different eras in which the historic figures lived.

“Putting this program together has been a rewarding experience for both the students and the seniors,” said Douglas Bates, director of the Foster Grandparent and Senior Companion programs at Senior Resources.

Burton Pack Elementary School, a Foster Grandparent program site, is located at 111 Garden Drive in Columbia. 

 

About Senior Resources, Inc.

Senior Resources is a non-profit organization that coordinates services, provides resources and encourages the personal choices that allow Columbia’s senior citizens to remain independent. All activities, services and programs of the agency are geared toward promoting independent living, with the goal of helping seniors remain in their homes as long as possible through the support of staff and volunteers, and delaying or preventing institutionalization.

Since 1967, Senior Resources has served Columbia’s frail and elderly residents in three areas:

1) In-home services, including Meals on Wheels, home care, respite care, senior companion services, and case management;

2) Community-based services, including congregate meals, wellness centers, transportation, and physical fitness;

3) Volunteer services, including the Senior Companion program, Foster Grandparent program, and the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program.

With local, state and federal government funding, as well as contributions from United Way, personal donations and fundraising activities, Senior Resources offers a variety of programs so that our clients can select the assistance they need to maintain a healthy and independent lifestyle.