Karrie Meyers and Denae Yuros – Highlands Ranch, Colorado … The Mile High Academy’s third-grade class has been visiting the ThriveCare assisted living facilities once a month. They enjoyed time with the residents by singing songs, playing games, and reading. The ThriveCare facilities are owned and operated by MHA parents Casey and Erika Leno and are mainly located in the Littleton area.
“Some of us went to the Yarrow House from December to May. Each time we visited, we exercised and sang songs with them. We had fun singing and reading. One person who changed our lives was Miss Lovey. We looked forward to our visits because of Miss Lovey. We need to be more like her because she is kind. Going to ThriveCare was important to us because we got to make new friends,” said the Yarrow House Group.
The Ingalls House Group said, “We went to ThriveCare because we enjoyed visiting during service day and wanted to keep going. Our group visited friends at the Ingalls House. We loved the creativity and the excitement of going to the house. We also had fun playing, singing, dancing, reading, eating snacks, doing arts and crafts, and making friends with the residents.”
“I’m glad I got the chance to go to ThriveCare. I feel really good because I got to spread God’s word a lot,” said Judd, a third-grade student.
MHA student Riley said, “ThriveCare was a fun place with really nice people, and I loved to learn about my person. I learned that she was 101 years old, and her favorite subject was math. My other person liked saying, ‘God bless America.’ She passed away, but she was so nice and kind. We know everyone misses her a lot. I hope we can go back soon.”
And another student Brody recalled his favorite part of the visitations: “We got to dance. We got to sing and have lots of fun. I LOVED IT!”
Denae Yuros, the third-grade teacher, commented, “Each visit filled my heart with so much joy as I watched my students interact and communicate with the residents. Together they sang songs, played word games, made crafts, and read books. Forever friendships were forged almost immediately upon entering each home.”
She continued, “We want to give a special thank you to Cindy Roldan for connecting our class with Barb, the activities director at ThriveCare, as well as going with us on several visits. Barb expressed countless times how much of a difference our students were making in the lives of their residents, and she looks to a continued partnership with MHA. Thank you to Casey and Erika Leno for giving the third graders an opportunity to serve and love the residents. We appreciate everyone involved with this year-long service experience.”
—Karrie Meyers is the marketing and development coordinator, and Denae Yuros is the third grade teacher at Mile High Academy. Photos supplied.
