Bumper-to-bumper wheelchair traffic for ukelele concert

And if you thought traffic was bad on University of Michigan football game days … the stop-and-go wheelchair congestion Wednesday evening in the hallways of Glacier Hills Memory Care Unit was nearly as legendary.

Anna’s Kindness volunteers helped transport Glacier Hills residents to the wildly popular annual fall party and ukulele concert, which meant it was bumper-to-bumper (wheelchair-to-wheelchair actually) traffic waiting for the pavilion’s small elevator to continuously shuttle two wheelchairs at a time to the Life Enrichment Center, where the concert was held.

Once in the center, Forsythe 8th graders Samantha Chiang, Alex LeFort and the rest of the students ‘parked’ the residents in front row seats, and then went to the kitchen to pour out small amounts of apple cider and sliced portions of doughnuts for the concertgoers. Pelzom Sherpa, Jessica Beaver, Tessa Hanrath, Christopher Van Lent, and Halle Woodard then walked around the center, offering food and drink to not only the concertgoers but also the band members.

Forsythe 7th grader Halle was chatting with nearly every resident she saw, offering food to some, or simply saying ‘hi’ to all the others.

“This one couple in the back, they loved me,” she smiled.

“They were so cute,” said Tessa, an 8th grader who had volunteered with Anna’s Kindness last year.

Forsythe 8th grader Christopher and his mom Colleen had also volunteered with Anna’s Kindness last year, and both were on hand to help the seniors enjoy the concert. For some of the residents, that enjoyment came simply from seeing the young volunteers mingling around. The middle schoolers brought an additional level of energy to a concert which was already filled with unique sounds and songs.

Pelzom’s younger sister Mezel was a huge hit with the seniors as she danced and shook a pair of maracas to the beat of the music.

For some, like Pelzom, it was a chance to serve the elderly, an opportunity her mother Moni had been looking for.

For others, it may have dispelled the myth that old people are, well, a little cranky.

“They were so nice,” said Tessa Hanrath.

Thank you to Colleen for helping host the event, Jamie and the Glacier Hills staff, and Hungry Howies on Plymouth Road in Ann Arbor for providing the students a little dinner before volunteering.

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