By Jenna Hurley
Correspondent
May 11, 2008 02:27 am METHUEN — The Olympics may not be until August, but some local students and older folks kicked off the festivities early with the Senior Citizen Olympics. The annual event at Methuen High School, organized by the Peer Leaders, brought students and senior citizens together recently to interact while playing Olympics-inspired games. Approximately 150 student volunteers spent the day with the 98 senior citizens from 12 participating facilities. "This is great. I love spending time with older people. It feels good," said Sam Giddinge, 17. Seniors and students paired up to enjoyed games of baseball, golf, basketball, bowling, washer toss, soccer, horseshoes, baseball throwing, Velcro-ball toss and shot put. . "This is my first time to volunteer. I'm glad to see the seniors have some fun," said Allyssa Bennett, 17. Her partner, Mel Prescott of Penacook Place, was expecting a good time, too. "This is my first time here," he said. "My son said it should be fun. I think it will be because younger people are more fun." James Ogilvie, also of Penacook Place, joked about how he came to participate in the games. "They dragged me here," he said, adding that being there reminded him of when he was in Atlantic City High School, where he was the head of the dance band. Jerry Proulx of Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley worked with the organization Living Is for the Elderly to begin these types of events. At first, the group held private functions and invited all students to attend. Their very first event attracted more than 200 people. The L.I.F.E. Games became so popular that local high schools started holding their own similar events. Now, Methuen High School is the only school in the Merrimack Valley to hold one. Proulx recalled the lesson a teenager learned at one of the first L.I.F.E. Games. The boy was waiting for his assigned senior citizen to arrive and when the woman finally did, he was nowhere to be found. When they finally found him, the administrators asked him what had happened. The student said he had left because the woman assigned to him was in a wheelchair. They told the student that if he truly did not want to be there he would have to leave. He stayed, and after a few activities, the boy began to have fun and enjoyed being with the woman. "That is what we like to see, one-to-one interaction. They all just go together," Proulx said. Linda Dufresne, who worked with Proulx to put the event together, said, "We love seeing the kids and seniors interact." Peer Leaders adviser Laurel Bakker said it was nice to see the spirit with which the student embraced working with seniors. "In the halls I don't see the students having this much compassion and spirit. But, it is all brought out by being with an older generation," she said. Karisa Ajanel, 16, punctuated Bakker's point. "It is nice talking with the seniors because you get to see their outlooks and views on different things," she said. Jenna Hurley is a teen correspondent for The Eagle-Tribune.
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