Prospect Heights students help Grandbrier seniors' Victory Garden grow
A budding friendship between Prospect Heights' Anne Sullivan Elementary School students and Grandbrier older adult residents that began at the start of school continues to grow with students donating funds and time to help plant the senior living community's first Victory Garden on May 30.
The students donated a $500 grant they received to Grandbrier of Prospect Heights to purchase garden supplies and plants, and about 30 fifth-grade student ambassadors will help plant the garden from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Wednesday, May 30, at the community at 708 N. Elmhurst Road, Prospect Heights. They will plant gardens on the assisted living patio and in the memory care courtyard.
In another show of generosity, members of local Boy Scout's Pack 333 jump-started the project earlier this spring when they built high-rise planters to make gardening easier for the residents and painted and filled birdhouses with seed to attract feathered friends to the outdoor spaces.
Grandbrier's Executive Director Christine DeConcilis said the local support and enthusiasm for Grandbrier's inaugural garden has ex-"seeded" the community's expectations.
"Our residents and team members are excited to be partnering with local students and Scouts on the planting of our inaugural Victory Garden, and they are touched by the children's generous donations of time, talent and money," said DeConcilis.
The Victory Garden - named after the "Victory Gardens" that First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt encouraged folks to plant during World War II to keep up the food supply - is a win-win for residents and the local kids involved. Gardeners young and old reap the benefits of interacting with different generations, seeing the fruits of their labor and sharing the bountiful harvest of fresh veggies and herbs together later this summer.
"Residents are thrilled with the process, dreaming about bumper tomato crops and looking forward to making lasting connections with their helpers as well as useful contributions to our dining program come harvest time," says Grandbrier Community Life Coordinator Megan McInerney.
Professionally managed by Pathway to Living, Grandbrier of Prospect Heights is an independent, assisted living and memory care community offering award-winning VIVA! programming and wellness care, residential accommodations, amenities and support services in a new state-of-the art, custom-built community. For information, visit www.grandbrierassistedliving.com or call (847) 243-6920.
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