STERLING — Chocksett Middle School peer leaders made the short walk down to the Sterling Senior Center on Feb. 5 to help assemble Valentine’s Day-themed care packages that will be delivered to elderly homebound town residents.
Senior center staff and volunteers said Clinton Savings Bank and Leominster Credit Union donated hand sanitizer and lip balm for the bags that were “put together with love.” The pink bags also included a variety of chocolates and colorful handmade cards created by the 11 eighth-graders with markers and colored pencils.
“They (the seniors) appreciate these treats so much,” Sterling Senior Center Outreach Coordinator Bonnie Decker told the students.
Each student made half a dozen cards with hearts, flowers, and other Valentine’s themed décor drawn on them along with a handwritten note on the back.
Chocksett Middle School counselor Melissa Dervishian accompanied the students to the senior center. She said the school has been doing the peer leaders program in cooperation with the senior center since 2018, two years after she came on board in her role.
The students visit the senior center once a month and do a variety of activities with the seniors including pickleball tournaments, Halloween festivities, and an annual holiday concert and singalong in December. They made cards for veterans in November in honor of Veterans Day, and a veteran came in and spoke to the students.
Dervishian said they have even done a “dance off” with the seniors, where the students teach the older folks some TikTok dance challenges and the seniors in turn teach the young adults some classic dances.
“It was so fun, but it’s these projects where we are doing something for the community that are most important, and the collaboration,” Dervishian shared.
