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TIM CURRAN
MID-COUNTY MEMO
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| Care Center East Health & Specialty Care Administrator Glyndon Ruth, left, dances with Pauline Wycoff and Richard Butler, two residents of the skilled nursing facility. MEMO PHOTOS/TIM CURRAN |
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| Maxine Waldkirch, center, in the wheelchair, voted Prom Queen at Care Center East's patient prom and dance night last month. |
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| A member of the Parkrose High School Asian Youth Society chats with Care Center East patient Julia Wood at the Seniors' Prom held last month at the adult rehabilitation care center. |
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| Care Center East Activities Director Jan Jones, left, poses with Parkrose High School senior Aurora Dan. Together they organized, planned and produced a prom and dance last month for patients of the skilled nursing facility that has them talking about it more than a week after.” |
Last month, on a Friday night, and with a little help from friends, co-workers and one particular high school senior, Jones made it a night to remember for young and old seniors, recreating the prom moment and experience complete with formal wear, music, dancing and teenage energy.
Skilled at planning and creating activities, Jones realized you cannot have a prom without teenagers, so she called Parkrose High School and asked for help; she got it.
To graduate, every Parkrose senior is required to complete a Senior Capstone Project. Intended to show proof of 12 years of educational experience by demonstrating new learning and student maturation, Capstone Projects are designed to evince students' discipline with critical thinking skills in planning and organizing projects using acquired reading, writing and math skills.
Originally, Parkrose Senior Aurora Dan wanted her Capstone Project to involve helping animals in some way. However, when advisor Mike Verhulst - disc jockey for the night - told her about Jones and what she needed, Dan called Jones. After their conversation, the high school senior made a 180-degree turn, committing to making the prom production her Capstone Project. “I always try to volunteer. I knew this would be a huge project, but I'm thinking, this would be awesome,” she said. With a determined laugh, she added. “I took this one on. It wasn't my idea, but I chose to take it.” She will have spent at least 40 hours planning, organizing and preparing for the event.
That Dan's peers, some she did not know, showed up to help decorate dressed in prom attire ready to dance, touched her. Students from National Honor Society, Asian Youth Society, Black Student Union and Student Government all participated.
“It sounds cliché, but it is true, we're really diverse [at Parkrose]; we have tons of different opportunities for people to join clubs and help others. April is National Volunteer month; this is a reminder to my friends and other people my age to go out and help people, just help.”
Days after the prom, Care Center East Administrator Glyndon Ruth said residents are still talking about it and want to have another dance. “It was beautiful,” Ruth said. “They liked being made up and wearing the glitzy stuff, passing the tiara around; they were real cute.” One patient, Maxine Waldkirch who Ruth had not seen move her arms other than to control her motorized scooter for more than a year was moved to tears. “She (Maxine) can barely move; she started out beating her fists together to the music, and little by little she moved her fingers up and was actually clapping. I was near tears; I had never seen that. She wasn't focused on the pain that she has or the paralysis she has. She was into the fun of it and began doing these amazing things.”
You can't go back in time, but you can always have fun today.
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