The timing – late December, with the arrival of Chanukah imminent – may have hinted at winter, but the atmosphere inside was warm and welcoming as Pikus Senior Enrichment Programs of COJO Flatbush held its latest luncheon in partnership with Bnos Leah Prospect Park Yeshiva High School (BLOPPY) at the school’s location.
The seniors greeted longtime friends, enjoyed a delightful dairy meal provided by the school, played several competitive rounds of Bingo, and were, as one of the participants put it, “absolutely enchanted” by the Bnos Leah students – from both the high school and the elementary grades – who sang, danced, and chatted with them.
The interaction between seniors and students has become the highlight of these luncheons, guaranteed to lift spirits and create wide smiles. Student Sarit Yakubov said she loved hearing about the seniors’ experiences when they were young, while seniors Blima Mindel and Miryam Marc described how their interaction with the students makes them feel younger.
This coming together of generations is “what makes the luncheons really unique,” said COJO Flatbush Social Services Director Shulamis Shapiro. “The students gain new insights from talking with the seniors and learning about their lives and the seniors are invigorated by the students’ youth and enthusiasm.”
BLOPPY’s Nechama Shreibman, who always does an outstanding job overseeing the luncheons, said the connection between the students and COJO’s senior clients is “something one can’t help but feel, especially when they dance together, creating not just an emotional but a literal link between them.”
COJO Flatbush CEO Louis Welz reiterated what he said after a previous COJO-BLOPPY luncheon: “The generational aspect of these events took on an even deeper and more profound meaning in the aftermath of Oct. 7. The students were too young to have ever witnessed, even from a distance, the scope and barbarity of an attack like that on Jews, while the seniors never thought they’d once again see Jews so vulnerable to attack, certainly not in Israel. As a result, we’ve all seen and felt a deepened level of empathy and identification between Jews, wherever they are and whatever their age.”
Seniors Luncheons are just one of the many events, activities, and services COJO Flatbush offers seniors. For more information, or if you (or a parent) would like to join us for these events, call 718-377-2900, ext. 342.
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