At a time when so many people are experiencing social isolation, some students from Ponte Vedra High School are bringing joy to the residents of a local assisted living and memory care community. And two sisters – one a PVHS student, the other an alumna – have been leading the effort.
Before the onset of the coronavirus, the students’ Senior Connections club would meet monthly with residents of The Palms at Ponte Vedra, primarily its memory care facility, to do crafts and sing songs.
For Siya and Mira Bhutani, it was a continuation of something they began years ago while living in the United Kingdom.
Then, COVID-19 necessitated a cessation to in-person visits. Still, the students found ways to carry out their mission, which Siya said, was to “put a smile on the residents’ faces and make them feel happy.”
Getting Connected
The sisters first demonstrated their love of serving the elderly after moving to London from their native India several years ago.
“Mira and I used to go to a care home near my school,” said Siya. “We would play ukulele and the guitar and sing for the residents.”
The girls would organize games, such as mini-bowling, and because this was England, they would pass around tea at tea time.
In 2018, the girls’ family moved to Ponte Vedra where Siya and Mira sought opportunities to continue their work.
“I knew I had to get involved and give back to the community and spend time with the elderly,” Siya said.
At PVHS, she met Senior Connections club founder Grace Littler and quickly joined. Though Mira was in middle school at the time, she too got involved.
In addition to the club activities, the Bhutani girls would visit the residents on their own to play music and sing. Of course, it meant learning some new songs.
“In the U.K. and in India, I had never heard of ‘You Are My Sunshine’ or ‘Polly Wally Doodle,’” said Siya.
Fortunately, the community’s Life Enrichment Director Marylee Lewis had a booklet from which they could learn these favorites from the past.
“When we played music, a lot of (residents) stood up and danced,” Siya said. “I think that just makes me so happy and so fulfilled.”
Changes
2020 forced the sisters and the whole club to adapt to change.
For one thing, both Siya and Littler were graduating. If the club was to continue, it would need someone to take up the reins. Because Mira would be in the ninth grade in fall and because she had been actively involved, she was the perfect choice.
This year, she is the president of the club, which has 22 members.
The pandemic brought another challenge. The students could no longer meet with the residents.
So, the club members made craft items for the residents and dropped them off with Lewis. In November, they made goody bags and filled them with assorted chocolates. In December, they made personalized wooden ornaments and wrote residents’ names on them. They made posters for winter, spring and St. Patrick’s Day. For Valentine’s Day, they made giant chains of hearts, also inscribed with residents’ names.
“It’s been a challenge,” said Mira, “but I think we’ve done pretty good so far.”
In addition, Mira and Siya – who is studying biology on the pre-med track at the University of Florida – launched a YouTube channel for the residents to watch. On the channel, the sisters perform the songs residents love.
The channel is a hit. Siya said Lewis told her that the residents enjoy seeing the sisters “on TV.”
“I thought that was really cute,” Siya said.
The enrichment that the sisters and all the Senior Connections club members bring to the residents no doubt helps at a time when they may not be able to visit with grandchildren.
But these young volunteers gain something similar in return: a relationship they might have with a grandparent.
“When we moved to the U.K., we didn’t have our grandparents anymore because they were back in India,” said Mira. “And we saw the elderly as kind of our grandparents. They were just so lovely, and I enjoyed just spending time with them. And as much as they felt happy, I felt even happier to be with them.”
The club's Instagram page is called pvseniorconnections. The YouTube channel is called Siya Bhutani.
