Intergenerational camp a hit with residents

Fifth annual event makes people 'feel alive'

August 28, 2012 -- Jeanne Pengelly

For Springdale Country Manor resident Marjorie Fraser, children are not a common sight — at least not lots of them, all day, for a week.

But last week the Peterborough-area long-term care home held its annual intergenerational day camp, and the home was filled with the sights and sounds of children playing. This left Fraser with a great feeling, she says.

“I'm not used to children, but it is so nice to have them around; (it) makes you feel alive,” she told the OMNIway on Friday, the camp’s last day.

The summer day camp for children and grandchildren of residents and staff at Springdale Country Manor is in its fifth year. The camp was complete with a bouncy castle — which Fraser tried — cotton candy, snocones and popcorn.

This was the first year life enrichment co-ordinator Candice Stewart planned the event.

“I was terrified,” says Stewart, who came to the home in May. “I thought, ‘how do I keep the kids' attention for more than 15 minutes, and make sure everyone has a life-enriching experience?’ But as soon as I realized that it didn't have to be perfect, that the situation was a natural blend, I had my answer.”

Activities throughout the week led up to the afternoon fair. Residents and the children — about a dozen or more of them — did crafts together, wrote stories, took pictures, played games and learned about one another. Each child took home a memory box, while each resident received a framed photo of one of the children and a copy of the art they'd worked on together.

Resident Mabel Lemere says having the kids around made her feel “comfortable.”

“It's important for kids to grow up being around older people,” Stewart says, adding it was her own grandmother that inspired her desire for a career in long-term care.

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