Nursing home residents at The Palace Nursing Home got a special surprise last week when students from TERRA High School hosted a “senior” prom for the elderly residents.
The students’ work allowed the 75 nursing home residents to create a new “prom” memory, enjoy good food, and pose for traditional prom portraits. Nursing home staff even voted and crowned a prom king and queen.
Activities director Debbie Horvitz told ABC News, “It was unbelievable. We had such a great time.” Horvitz added, “We had a tie for [prom] queen and we had a king. One of the queens and kings were holding hands for the rest of the prom. The kids did a great job.
The TERRA Environmental Research Institute student government hosted the prom on April 21 and invited all 75 seniors, along with their families.
Among the attendees was 101-year-old Eleanor Bessin, who still carries with her the photo of her original prom date. Horvitz recalled that Eleanor attended her first prom with a boy she thought she would marry. However, “He developed cancer and died a short time after the war.” Still, Eleanor had a great time at her latest prom.
TERRA’s principal Caridad Montano explained that the students came up with the idea for the “senior” prom when they were talking about their own prom. Montano told ABC News of the prom, “It’s really heartfelt.”
She added, “It really is a sense of nice things happening in a world when we see the respect that the elderly deserve. They are very, very kind. This is a wonderful group of students.”
TERRA student government president Sabrina Rosell, 17, added that she and her fellow students made the corsages that they gave to the ladies who attended the prom.
Rosell added, “I just want the student government to dance with them, interact with them and make them feel special. I think ultimately the biggest thing is for them to have a smile on their face. I know their families probably don’t get to visit them often, so it’s just to show them that their community loves and cares about them.”
