By: Richard L. Smith
On Friday, A'Dorian Murray-Thomas and the SHE Wins! Scholars went to the Seth Boyden Housing for the Elderly and Disabled to host a Mother's Day "Intergenerational and Inclusive" Paint and Sip.
According to A'Dorian, "It's really important that girls and young women in the City of Newark understand the importance of having fun and learning from our senior community.
The girls did a great job serving the seniors food and helping them create their art pieces."
We wanted to bring the celebration with food, raffles, and fun to the seniors and the disabled where they live.
The residents were so excited because they felt they are often forgotten.
Lakita Lloyd, a SHE Wins! Peer Mentor and resident at Seth Boyden, who helped organize the event, stated, "Overall, I enjoyed the event; I was proud of myself for pulling something together, like A’Dorian, who I admire.
The smiles on the resident's faces made my day. I always hear how they wish to have things, and I'm happy that I was able to do something for them. I was proud of the girls for helping me pull off the event.
They did wonderfully, and the ladies still commend me and the program for the amazing time they had."
Monique Davis, another SHE Wins! Peer Mentor shared, "What I Ioved most about the event is the joy on the residents' faces when they were creating their masterpieces.
The energy in the room was so inviting and warm. Being around SHE Wins already feels like family; being around the residents was the added bonus I needed that day."
Kaia Williams, a 10th grader in SHE Wins! shared, " I enjoyed helping out the residents by passing out and mixing paint for them and helping draw the pictures they wanted to paint.
I enjoyed seeing my friends who I haven't seen in a long time, and it was nice to help others while having fun with my friends at the same time. It was also nice to see the residents having fun with their friends and family while they were painting, as well as smiling and laughing the whole time.