‘It snowballed’: Hamilton students send nearly 500 Christmas greetings to long-term care residents
Did you know the Russian ballet The Nutcracker wasn't performed in North America until the mid-1900s - more than 50 years after its original 1892 performance in Saint Petersburg?
In letters to residents at St. Joseph's Villa long-term care home, Hamilton student Stephanie Hrynkiw shared some of her favourite holiday traditions and trivia - the famous ballet, gingerbread houses, advent calendars and Wigilia, a meatless meal served Christmas Eve in Polish culture.
For Christmas this year, students at St. Mary Catholic Secondary School penned nearly 500 letters to residents at the Dundas long-term care home to spread holiday cheer.
A lot of them like have grandparents or elderly family members who maybe they can't visit this holiday season, so they thought ... they might as well write a letter to maybe help someone else who can't have their family either," said the Grade 10 student who launched the initiative.
Stephanie, 15, got the idea when she was barred last year amid COVID from volunteering at the Dundas long-term care home where her grandmother used to live.
I was hoping to kind of help out other people there," she said. They were always really brightened when I used to come in."
Instead, she found another way to put smiles on faces. She wrote five or six letters to appreciative" residents in time for Christmas.
Like so many facilities in the city, St. Joseph's Villa was hit with a large outbreak - theirs over Christmas last year.
This year, Stephanie decided to open it up to her classmates at St. Mary.
It snowballed," said principal Anthony Macaluso.
In 492 letters, students and staff shared favourite holiday recipes, music and activities, such as ice-skating and sleigh rides, and interesting facts about longtime Christmas traditions - letters trying to cheer up residents who might otherwise be lonely," Macaluso said.
Letters are expected to be delivered to residents this week.
In a thank you to letter-writers, St. Joseph's Villa president John Woods said the group photo of student participants gave him goosebumps."
What an incredibly beautiful gift to give our residents," Woods wrote. For those who don't have visitors, it will be so wonderful for them to know that they are not forgotten outside of our walls."
Kate McCullough is an education reporter at The Spectator. kmccullough@thespec.com