Grey Collins, Sophomore
As I gripped the bean bag and prepared myself to toss it onto the board, I was surrounded by many faces staring in intense anticipation. When my bean bag finally slid into the hole, the room erupted with extremely quiet cheers. It may not have been the level of excitement I was accustomed to from my peers in gym class, but this wasn’t any high school gym class. This was the MHS Forever Friends club at the Mariner Senior Living Community.
Every Sunday without fail, a group of students from Marblehead High School travel to the Mariner and spend time speaking and participating in activities with the residents of the community. They usually play games such as cornhole, jeopardy, and balloon volleyball, a popular activity in which the students bounce a balloon back and forth with the seniors. Around Christmas time, they even baked and decorated cookies with the residents. But most importantly, they talked and spent time with them so that they could learn from their life experiences.
The club was founded by Marblehead High School sophomores Casey Gransbury, Raegan Case, and Bella Casale last fall, in the hopes of creating a bridge between generations.
“I wanted to start this club to make connections with residents at the Mariner who might not always have someone to talk to and be in their company. I think we have so much to learn from their generation, and they have so much to share as well,” said Bella.
“I personally have always been passionate about forming those bonds with people like the residents living in the Mariner,” said Raegan about why starting the club was important to her. “And getting to hear their life stories is great because they have so much to share and teach.”
Casey spoke about the process of naming their club. “We came up with the name Forever Friends because we wanted to represent our idea of trying to forge intergenerational connections.”
While the club is dedicated to improving the lives of the residents, the founders of the club expressed how the club has positively impacted their own lives.
“Whenever I go to the Mariner, I leave feeling better about myself and feeling like I learned something new,” said Casey about what he has gotten out of the club so far.
Raegan recounted one day when a resident named Shirley brought the group up to the restaurant at the Mariner and got them ice cream after a game of jeopardy. They sat and chatted for over an hour, discussing the importance of taking risks in life.
“I feel like every Sunday has become happier,” said Raegan. “Not only from us kids seeing the residents every week and getting to form connections with them, but also from their happiness reflecting back on all of us. It fills my heart for the week.”
I certainly learned a lot about taking risks in life when I jumped into (and I think I dominated) the balloon volleyball game last Sunday. While the room filled with bouncing, colorful balloons and wide smiles, I realized how special the connections between different generations can be. There aren’t supposed to be winners in this slow-moving game, but I think that room was full of them.