A New Meaning for the Words “Senior Prom”

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you know I’m a huge proponent of intergenerational visits with our Golden Oldies. The Orlando Sentinel recently ran a story about an intergenerational event I think simply takes the cake — a senior prom held at an assisted living community, Summerville at Oak Park, and attended by “couples” made up of senior citizens from there and high school seniors from East Ridge and Ocoee High Schools in Florida.

Terri Glimcher, activities director at Oak Park, said the senior prom came about through “Bridging the Generations,” a program she started four years ago to bring together seniors and students from local schools.

I don’t want to give away all the details, which you can read here, but suffice it to say the prom was well planned and came with all the trimmings. It had a Chinese New Year theme, a multigenerational Prom King and Queen, and loads of dancing! The ages of the participants ranged from 17 to 96, according to the article.

Glimcher explained, “A lot of these folks never attended a senior prom . . . . It was during the Depression. They only had . . . shoes, food and necessities. . . . It was a big part of growing up that they missed.”

If your Golden Oldies live in an assisted living community, wouldn’t it be great to organize an event like this for them to participate in? What an incredible bonding experience it would be, as well as creatiing wonderful memories for all involved. Once these bonds are formed, it could lead to even more activities to continue “Bridging the Generations” as Glimcher’s program accomplishes so well. I urge you to read all about this cool senior prom in the original article.

What do you think about this idea? Have you participated in an intergenerational event like this? Please share it in our comment section below. (If you’d like quick instructions on how to leave a comment, click here.)

Update: Terri Glimcher has written here about “Behind the Scenes at the Senior Prom” including several photos.  The anecdotes about the evening brought tears to my eyes!  Enjoy!