On April 18th, students and staff at Wirt County High School welcomed the Elizabeth Care Center (ECC) residents and staff for the Geri Olympic competition. Competitors from both organizations faced off in five different competitions: basketball, bowling, clothespin stacking, horseshoes, and corn hole.
WCHS student and staff competitors included the following:
Basketball: Sam Moore, Kyle Miller, Trevor Starcher, Connor Hoover, and Mr. Lowe
Corn Hole: Casey Metz, Brodie Goodwin, Brody Ewing, Jesse Pappaianni, and Mr. Goff
Bowling: Caysen Marks, Kaedon Sees, William Garretson, Katie Duskey, and Mrs. Petrovsky
Horseshoes: Lynsie Perdue, Wyatt Goodnight, Chaz Burns, Lucas Pahl, and Ms. Adams
Clothes Pin Stacking: Kami Carpenter, Jamie Collins, Amelia Nulton, Ally Nicolas, and Mrs. Burns
The idea for the event was sparked by Elizabeth Care Center CEO, Hannah Moore. ECC residents are gearing up for the West Virginia State Geri Olympics on April 26th, and Ms. Moore wanted to provide them with a practice session and foster interaction with the high school community.
"We are so thankful for the opportunity to partner with Wirt County High School to provide our residents with intergenerational activities,” said Moore. “For everyone involved in the pep rally, it was truly a special event. The students and staff were so great to cheer on our residents and participate in the different events. We are so appreciative of such a supportive community, and to be able to provide meaningful quality activities such as this for our residents to enjoy.”
Throughout the year, various groups at the high school have visited with the nursing home residents and enjoyed the interactions and connections. The partnership has continued to grow and this was the residents first visit to Wirt County High School.
During the Geri Olympic event, residents were welcomed by the entire WCHS student body with a pep rally. The WCHS cheer team made a breakaway banner spouting “ECC vs. WCHS” for residents to break through as over 250 students and staff enthusiastically cheered. Students also worked in their development guidance groups before the pep rally to create signs to cheer on their peers, teachers, and residents during the games. The Tiger Mascot, Allie Kerby, was also on hand during the game to cheer on the competitors.
Freshman Caysen Marks was excited to compete against the residents in bowling. "I was surprised when I saw the smaller pins and plastic bowling ball," Marks said. "I'm used to league bowling with heavier equipment, so it was definitely a challenge!" Students and staff were surprised by how competitive the residents were and how much they had practiced for the events.
As part of the partnership between WCHS and ECC, the nursing home residents hand-crafted two beautiful, hand-tied blankets. These blankets were donated to the WCHS Communities in Schools closet, a new resource that helps students in need. WCHS and ECC look forward to continuing the mutually beneficial relationship and hosting more events in the future. Moore said, “I would like to thank the high school administration that worked with me to put this event together for us all to enjoy. We look forward to partnering with Wirt County High School in the future for more intergenerational events."