THOUSAND OAKS : Brownies Bring ‘Beach Party’ to the Elderly

The senior citizens came silently out of the activity center Thursday, some leaning on canes, others pushed in wheelchairs. But soon, they were whooping it up at a makeshift beach party hosted by a Thousand Oaks Brownie troop.

The patio at Fitzgerald Center was transformed into a wild, wet wonderland with bubble-making, water-balloon tossing, water relay games and sing-alongs.

“Uh oh,” declared Jill Delaney, the leader of Brownie Troop 531, which organized the event. “We might get wet, like at the beach. Remember, we’re at the beach.”

Not too many people were soaked in the first event, in which party-goers competed in two teams to pass water down a line in cups to see who could fill up a bucket first.

Then out came the water balloons. The senior citizens tossed them to the Brownies, and back again. With each catch, the participants cringed in anticipation of having a balloon burst on them.

Center client Marie Romano yelled with delight when her softball-size balloon hit the ground in front of her without breaking open.

“Look! It’s still bouncing,” she announced to the other players, most of whom were too busy winding up to throw or concentrating on a catch.

Bringing together young and old benefits both age groups, said Delaney, relating an experience she remembered from working at a retirement home in Florida. Some junior high school-age children who came to see the residents were scared of them at first, Delaney said.

“They thought elderly people would be icky and scary, but once they got together, it was fine,” Delaney said. “I like starting them at a young age to feel comfortable with older people.”

The nonprofit day-care facility provides a respite once or twice a week to full-time family care givers, said program coordinator Sherri Trout. Many of the seniors who come to Fitzgerald have conditions such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease, or depression, Trout said.

“Activities that bring them together with younger people help them to remember past experiences and help them to come alive,” Trout said.