Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Boy, 11, lifts spirits at Farmington home
FARMINGTON — Residents in Peachtree Village cannot wait to meet an 11-year-old boy from Farmington who has lifted their spirits throughout the covid-19 pandemic.
Lisa McCoy, activities director, said her residents haven’t been able to participate in a lot of activities since March because of the coronavirus.
Yet during that time, Jaxton Jowers has brought goodies and snacks for the center to enjoy and last week delivered Christmas gifts for all 65 residents.
For Christmas, Jaxton gave each resident hand sanitizer, candy, a Christmas card with his photo on it, socks and a soft, warm blanket.
Jaxton returned the next day, McCoy said, and brought insulated mugs filled with goodies for all 25 employees. McCoy said he gave her a gift card to Olive Garden, her favorite restaurant.
“I have a bunch of residents who are dying to meet Jaxton,” McCoy said. “You can’t imagine how what he has done has lifted their spirits. The only thing he has asked in return is to come back and play Bingo with them.”
McCoy said she told him she will make it happen one day. McCoy said she plans to host a “Jaxton Jowers Day” in his honor to thank him for caring for the residents.
Marcia Bockelman, who moved into Peachtree Village about four years ago, said the residents are so appreciative of all Jaxton has done.
“I have not met him but fortunately in the Christmas package there’s a picture of him,” Bockelman said. “He’s just been so good to us. It’s just unbelievable.”
Bockelman said she’s already been “snuggling under the very soft, lovely throw from Kohls that he gave us this year.”
What’s remarkable, Bockelman said, is that Jaxton does not have any connection to the assisted living center but is giving to residents “out of the goodness of his heart.”
McCoy said Braden Bailey, 5, also gave gifts to the residents this year. Braden’s grandmother, “Granny” Hazel Bailey, lives at Peachtree Village and instead of asking for presents for his own birthday, Braden asked for socks, gloves and lotion to give to the residents.
Jaxton raised money to buy the food and gifts for Peachtree Village residents by making “mask keepers,” a strap made of parachute cord with clips tied to each end. People can then attach their face masks to each clip so the mask will hang around the neck when it’s not being worn.
The project had two purposes, according to Jaxton. For one, it raised money to help Peachtree and then it provided a way for adults and kids to hold onto their facemasks.
Jaxton and his mother, Pam Jowers, started working on the project in June. They’ve made about 900 mask keepers and sold around 800 so far at $2 each: $1 to his Peachtree Village account and the other dollar for materials and a little bit left over for his efforts.
Jaxton said he plans to continue making the mask keepers and may look for another place to help. He also hopes to be able to volunteer at Peachtree Village one day.
Helping out the residents has meant a lot to him, he said.
“I’ve always wanted to be a part of helping a senior place, like volunteering, or helping out in the community,” Jaxton said last week.
His mask keepers are still available and can be purchased at the Rustic Rooster on Heritage Parkway in Prairie Grove.
McCoy said Peachtree Village has been “very fortunate” during the pandemic but adds that staff members have “worked our tails off” to make sure everyone is as safe as possible.
Currently, everyone is in quarantine because of a positive case, she said. When the governor decided earlier this year to allow visits to centers that met a certain criteria, Peachtree was able to allow visitors by appointment only. She said a room was set up in the library for the private visits.
The center has been approved to receive the covid-19 vaccine but does not have any of the vaccines yet on site, McCoy said.