Howie’s Heart volunteers visited the Plattdeutsche Senior Home in Franklin Square a few days before Halloween, sharing painted mini canvases and conversation with residents as part of the organization’s ongoing mission to spread kindness across generations.
The visit sparked reflections among residents about how much Halloween has changed over the years, while teen volunteers said they valued the chance to make a meaningful connection with seniors.
Jen Camacho, founder of Howie’s Heart, a nonprofit based in Franklin Square, said the event was inspired by her own experiences visiting her grandmothers in nursing homes.
“We’d be talking and making friends with other people other than just my grandma,” Camacho said. “I just saw how much joy it brought them.”
That interaction was on full display at the visit. Teen volunteer Alana Torregrossa, dressed as Belle from Beauty and the Beast, handed out faux roses to every resident she met.
“I feel like it’s nice, because you could talk to them and you get to know them and they could get to know you,” Alana said.
Her sister, Savannah, said she could see the impact immediately.
“I think it’s really nice for them, because sometimes they may not get a lot of visitors,” Savannah said. “So, I feel like it just brightens their day.”
Joanne Copeland, spending her first holiday season at the senior home, said the moment meant a lot.
“I think it’s awesome,” Copeland said. “We get visitors. This is my first holiday here. I can’t wait to see Christmas. We’re not in a nursing home, so to speak. They treat us like family.”
Resident, Joanne Lanigan, felt the same way.
“It’s very rewarding to me that children have such a good heart,” Lanigan said. “It’s just very kind to see how they can be this age and care so much and do so much for other people.”
Pat Stryjewski, another resident, said Halloween “was not like it (is) today.”
“We used to trick, not treat,” Stryjewski said. “It was like, pushing doorbells. And we had milk boxes, and we used to stuff leaves in the milk boxes. That was a big thing. Silly stuff.”
Costumes, she said, weren’t part of the holiday the way they are now.
“We used to wear old clothes, I think,” she said. “I don’t remember a costume like they do today. It wasn’t that way — it was all a trick.”
Camacho said the event showed how both generations benefit from time spent together.
“For kids, you get that nurturing from somebody who’s a little bit older than you,” she said. “Even seeing tonight, the residents asking, ‘Can I give you a hug?’ They just wanna love on you — they’re just so nurturing and loving and hang on every one of your words.”
She said the seniors, in turn, gain something just as meaningful.
“I feel like, for the elderly, that step back in time or (it gives them) that connection that maybe they’re missing right now,” Camacho said. “Even if you have visitors that come and see you once a week, you’re still spending most of your week on your own or with your residents. I think connecting with other people, especially young kids, that’s usually exciting.”
The teens handed out the mini canvases they had painted earlier in the month during Howie’s Monster Masterpieces event. By the end of the night, Camacho said she knew the visit mattered.
“There was one woman in particular who said she was struggling a lot emotionally and she almost didn’t come,” Camacho said, moved to tears. “But she decided to. And she said she was so thankful that she did come. She gave me three or four hugs before we left.”
