Brownies, seniors terrific team
Elderly pack holiday packages for soldiers with help from “cutest bunch of elves”
A group of Brownies dressed as elves got together with seniors at a Littleton memory care community and on Sunday helped them pack holiday care packages for U.S. soldiers serving in the Middle East.
Megan Balson, 8, asked 79-yearold Barbara Kelley what to add to the Christmas card she was writing to one of the soldiers. “Put ‘We are thinking of you,’ ” Kelley replied.
“They are the cutest bunch of elves I have ever seen,” Kelley added.
The 16 girls, all third-graders at a pair of Douglas County charter schools, Skyview Academy and Benjamin Franklin Academy, visited residents of Highline Place on South Broadway.
The girls are members of Brownie Troops 63933 and 60252.
“I think they’re wonderful. They make you feel good,” said Lucy Carney, 87. “They are so innocent and fun to be with.”
Kim Paul, a patient advocate with Synergy HomeCare, and Jodi Cornman, community relations director for Highline, came up with the idea of bringing in the Brownies to help the elderly make the packages for the “Adopt a U.S. Soldier” program.
For the Brownies, the visit was an opportunity “to learn the importance of giving back and spending some time with seniors,” said Alisa Poncher, a troop leader with 60252.
The care packages included snacks, disposable razors, wet wipes, toothbrushes and other items.
Amanda Paul, 9, stood on one leg, her elbows braced on a table, and scrawled her name, and that of Mary Warner. “I think it is wonderful whenever the children are here,” said Warner, who added that her age is “indescribable.”
Warner knew Amanda’s nowdeceased father when he was a kid, said Kim Paul, the girl’s mother.
Delanie Fierr, 8, said the soldiers may not be safe and can’t come home for Christmas. “So we’re sending this to try to make them feel better.”