The Huntington High School Grandfriends Club is comprised of an indefatigable group of teenagers and a very enthusiastic and energetic faculty advisor.
The organization’s normal annual routine has been turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the club continues to strive to make a positive contribution to the lives of the town’s senior citizens.
The club’s executive board consists of Brianna Isaza (co-president), Mary Grace Rorke (co-president), Cassidy Casabona (vice president), Victoria Mangan (treasurer), MarKella Markotsis (co-secretary) and Victoria Befumo (co-secretary). Teacher Suzi Biagi is the group’s faculty advisor.
“We recently visited the Town of Huntington Senior Center at the Village Green,” Ms. Markotsis said. “We held up cheerful signs as senior citizens drove through and picked up their meals in their cars. It was a really fun experience knowing that we were able to make them smile during these difficult times.”
Grandfriends is an intergenerational club focused on creating activities, planning events and collecting donations that will be used to put smiles on the faces of local senior citizens. The club provides its members with an opportunity to connect with the older generation and offer heartfelt service to Huntington’s senior citizen community.
“We had been trying to think of ideas we could do that are COVID-19 safe, yet still bring cheer to the seniors in our community,” Ms. Befumo said. “We were able to brighten so many people’s days and it allowed us to meet as a club, which we haven’t been able to do in so long. The whole day was amazing. We are currently planning some spring activities including, gift baskets and maybe some plant baskets as well.”
The Huntington teenagers got a heartwarming response from the senior citizens driving through to get their meals.
“We came together to wish the senior citizens in our community a happy spring while they picked up their lunches,” Ms. Casabona said. “We created beautiful signs for them and dressed in spring colors to help brighten their days. It was so nice to see the smiles on the seniors’ faces when they drove past us in their cars because such a small action like waving to someone and cheering them on can make such a big difference in their day. It was a really great experience because this was the first in person event that we were able to do all together this year.”
Ms. Biagi was joined by fellow high school faculty member Dr. Erica Murphy-Jessen in accompanying the club members to the senior center located on Park Avenue.
“We saw many familiar faces that we’ve seen from the senior senior prom we usually throw,” senior Angelica Hernandez said. “It has been hard to find ways to get involved with them, but we saw this opportunity and knew we had to take it. It was also good to see everyone’s smiles as they passed by and we got cheered on as well! It definitely felt like normalcy and it was overall a fun experience with Ms. Biagi and Dr. Jessen as well.”
Interested in supporting the mission of the Grandfriends? Send a message to Ms. Biagi at sbiagi@hufsd.edu.