On April 20, Brookdale Lake Worth, an independent living facility, hosted a space-themed fundraiser for Kids4Seniors. Kids4Seniors is a program started by 10-year-old Wellington resident Giavonna Antonucci, who wanted to make a change in her community.
After seeing a Disney commercial about kids promoting change, Antonucci was inspired to help the seniors in her community who are lonely. Loneliness affects almost half the senior population, including seniors who live with someone or are living in a senior facility. Senior loneliness causes cognitive decline, depression, it is even linked to early mortality.
Antonucci partnered with the Boys & Girls Club of Wellington and got more than 40 kids to join her in visiting seniors in their community. Since January, these kids have made several visits to the seniors at Brookdale Lake Worth and have established relationships with many residents.
The space-themed event honored Global Youth Service Day by thanking the kids for their community service with games and prizes to be played with the seniors. It was also a networking event that invited professionals to see what Kids4Seniors was all about.
The event was put together by RecBox LLC, a therapeutic recreation company founded by Antonucci’s mother, Tina Antonucci. Giavonna helped her mother create several space-themed intergenerational games that the seniors could enjoy with the kids.
For more information about Kids4Seniors, visit www.recbox.org.
ABOVE: Giavonna Antonucci (front right) has organized several visits to area senior residences.
