Parade Celebrating Friendship
When Pleasant View Health Care Center in Barberton, Ohio originally paired with local high school students, it was supposed to be a short senior project. Little did they know, it would turn into so much more.
More than a dozen high school seniors from the Four Cities Compact (Barberton, Norton, Copley and Wadsworth) enrolled in the Advancement to Nursing program had been visiting residents at Pleasant View for nearly seven months before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Many had created strong bonds in that time, and felt as though their new friends were like family to them. While they could talk on the phone, they missed seeing each other and sought a way to bring closure to the program.
The graduates did not disappoint, pulling together to organize a heartwarming parade for their resident friends. Complete with a police escort, they circled the home with decorated cars full of smiles and noisemakers. The students waived out the windows and honked their horns to say their socially-distanced goodbyes.
Residents (donning masks) shook tambourines, waved ‘congrats grad!’ balloons, and wished the students well from chairs set up along the facility’s lawn. They couldn’t say enough how much this gesture meant to them, and were overjoyed to see the friendly faces they have missed so much.
Thank you to all involved in this truly touching act of friendship!