Walt Whitman HS Students Bring Holiday Cheer To Senior Citizens

HUNTINGTON STATION, NY — More than 100 student government and Leadership students from Walt Whitman High School brought holiday help and cheer to residents of the Sunrise Senior Living center of Huntington, which is right across the street from the high school, on Monday, the South Huntington School District announced.

The students volunteered their time to entertain and offer help to the residents get ready for the holidays.

Leadership students spent the last week making personalized Christmas ornaments for the center’s residents and were excited to hand deliver them and help hang them on the assisted living center’s tree. After entertaining the residents with a few Christmas carols, they sat together to drink hot chocolate, play some board and card games, and do puzzles.

Jamie Calo, sales director at Sunrise of Huntington, said the residents always look forward to the Whitman students coming to visit.

"A lot of our residents who live here are retired school teachers or doctors or lawyers, things like that," Calo said in a news release. "They always lived a very active lifestyle. So of course we have a calendar of activity programs here at Sunrise, but really having the students in to spend time with the residents really enriches them."

The afternoon brought in another group of students whose main goal was to help the residents wrap presents. Smaller groups of students took the wrapping supplies and went around to residents’ rooms to decorate their doors with wrapping paper, holiday decals and bows.

One group of girls set up a manicure station and started polishing nails for residents whose hands might not be steady enough to do it themselves. Junior Class President Ashley Palacios was part of that group.

"I want to spread kindness and show the world that there are young people like us who can be leaders and teach them we could help the world by helping others and making them happy," Palacios said. "And because seeing a smile on their faces makes me, you know, happy and blessed."

Whitman Student Government President Mason Peretson said he felt very welcomed.

"I think it's good for them to just experience outside interactions that are different from what they experience every day here," he said. "I feel like I am helping them in a way and they're helping me in a way, too."