STUDENTS, ELDERLY 'SHARE' EXPERIENCES; PROGRAM BRINGS SEVENTH GRADERS TO JACKSON MANOR

Working on Lee Burciago's nails, visiting with other residents and sharing their time, Ashley Goggin and Sarah Coleman seemed at ease during the first SHARE Program at Jackson Manor Tuesday.

The girls were the first two seventh grade students from Donna Brown's Lifeskills class at Jackson Middle School, to take part in the SHARE (Students Helping, Aiding, Reaching the Elderly.) program.

Two students from the school will visit the facility every other Tuesday during the school year for approximately two and a half hours and spend time with residents.

"Our goal is to educate students about the process of aging," said Roxann Smith, program coordinator. We hope it will quell some of the fears or concerns students may have of coming to nursing homes. It can be scary sometimes for children. We hope to train them and orientate them to the facility. Hopefully they'll come back and volunteer later."

Students arriving at Jackson Manor will be given a brief orientation on the aging process to help prepare them or meeting with the residents and their one-on-one contact with them. They will get to take part in activities with seniors, or just spend time visiting with them. They also eat with the residents.

"After the students return to school, they should be encouraged to report on their experiences to their classmates," said Dave Walker, Jackson Manor administrator. "Hopefully their positive attitudes will increase the popularity of this program with their peers."

Coleman and Goggin launched the program Tuesday and seemed comfortable in the surroundings.

"My grandmother is in a nursing home," Goggin explained. "I know how to talk to talk to them. Hopefully I can brighten their day a little bit."

Goggins is a peer mediator at the middle school and wants to be a doctor or a lawyer. Coleman, like Goggins, plays intramural football and wants to teach. She also enjoys reading.

Smith, a former nursing home activities coordinator in Anaheim, Calif. and Phoenix, Arizona, volunteers her time with the SHARE Program and also fills in for the activity director when needed. She agreed that the students brighten the lives of the residents.

"Many of the residents here have grandchildren and great grandchildren," Smith said. "Some don't have a chance to see them more often than every few months or longer at a time. It always puts a smile on their face."

"It is a unique opportunity for students at the Middle School to learn about the aging process and also gives our residents someone to share their life experiences with," Walker said. "It will also provide positive interaction between the community, the school and the facility."

A one-time experiment with middle school student council members visiting the home last year prompted the SHARE program to be launched. At the end of the school year all the participating students will share a pizza party with the residents.