Young and Old Enjoy a Valentine’s Party

Three excited first-graders dash into the Pinecrest Elementary School cafeteria to alert their teacher, Anna Cheah, that”They’re here! They’re here!”

“They” are senior citizens who visited the school Thursday for a Valentine’s Day party as part of the Center for Aging Research and Evaluation (CARE) Club, Granada Hills Community Hospital’s therapeutic program for those with mild memory loss.

At Pinecrest, 11 CARE Club members were greeted by Cheah’s first-grade students, who for the past month had been preparing Valentine cards for the occasion.

“Our seniors were a little struck by how many children greeted them at the door, but they’ve also been looking forward to this for a month,” CARE Club coordinator Dr. Karin Marin said.

Since October, Cheah’s class and CARE Club members have taken part in monthly group activities.

For February, Cheah said, each student adopted one senior citizen and prepared a personalized Valentine’s card for him or her.

“Their appreciation for the seniors is just tremendous,” Cheah said.

Lee Barham, 71, said the feeling is mutual. “For me, it’s an absolute delight to see these young people,” he said.

The day’s activities concluded with the senior citizens teaching the children how to make flower arrangements for Valentine’s Day, an activity that proved to be more enjoyable for the girls than the boys.

After having success with teaching 6-year-old Taylor Tronson the fine art of flower arrangement, Sonia Sternfeld smiled and said, “I’m very much enjoying this.”

“Me too,” said Taylor.