On Thursday, April 25th, Joane Blatt attended her first senior prom. She dressed to the nines, sported a beautiful floral corsage, had one of the cutest dates (who was also a groovy dancer), and enjoyed every second. Joane, who is 88 and has seven great-grandchildren, boasted, “Here I am, partying!”
Joane was one of the many residents of GreenFields of Geneva who attended the senior prom hosted by the National Honor Society of Rosary High School in Aurora, with support from Marmion Academy. The event featured residents and students dressing up, socializing, and having the time of their lives in the festively prom-theme decorated senior living community. As the DJ proclaimed, “Let’s boogey,” music of Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and Bobby Darin inspired some legendary dancing across generations.
Jillian Ferraro, a resident of St. Charles, is the vice president of the National Honor Society (NHS) at Rosary High School, and in that role, responsible for suggesting and coordinating major service projects. “I had planned senior prom for Rosary last year for the graduating seniors when I was a junior. It gave me the idea to plan a prom for the seniors at GreenFields. People don’t get the chance to dance all that often. And it would be a fun opportunity for them to dress up. All the members of the NHS jumped on board. Our brother community is Marmion Academy and some of the students from here came to help out.,” she said.
Joane said she had missed her high school senior prom approximately 70 years ago, because she’d already started college when the dance was held. Her fellow-resident at GreenFields of Geneva, Paul Reed likes to dance, and he strutted his stuff at prom, entertaining a large circle of enthusiastic, cheering high school students as he jived away.
The boys from Marmion joined in the dancing and socializing and good-naturedly posed for photos with some of the residents.
“This was such a fun and meaningful event on so many levels,” said Elijah Heyboer, Executive Director of GreenFields. “For the students, it was a great way for them to interact with our wonderful residents. It was fun to watch them appreciate how active and engaged our residents are. It also supported the students’ mission of giving back to the community. For the residents, it was energizing and entertaining to interact with the teens. At GreenFields, many of our favorite programs are intergenerational. We hope to have the prom become an annual event.”
