Skip to content

Acts of kindness appreciated at Meadows

Grades 4 and 5 Muheim schoolchildren bring joy to residents of assisted living facility
16287841_web1_letterstotheeditor

Editor,

There is a saying that goes, “It takes a Village to raise a child.” If that is true then the corollary “It takes a bunch of children to bring some joy to a bunch of homebound elders,” is also true.

Once a month a grade 4/5 class from Muheim School comes to visit the folks who reside at The Meadows, assisted living in Smithers. For three years, Liliana, their teacher, has been walking the kids from Muheim Elementary School, in all kinds of weather, to The Meadows for all kinds of activities from game playing and painting to dancing to the music of the Just Us Band. Thanks Herb and Band. You are a big part of our world here and our Muheim kids love you and your band.

Recently the kids received a grant from a Vancouver theatre company (good job Liliana). A drama instructor has been hired to come to Smithers and help the kids write, produce and perform a stage play. The kids have interviewed all of us here and the play will be based on those interviews. Word has it that a couple of “Meadows inmates” will be in the performance joining the kids, but that’s a secret. So get your tickets (free) early.

It is important to community health that citizens become involved in community-spirited activities like these. More importantly those who are instrumental in creating these activities need to receive the acknowledgement they deserve for doing so. Big kudos to Liliana, the teaching assistants who come with the kids, our manager Val, Meadows staff and all the kids who make life at The Meadows a whole lot more fun than it would be otherwise.

A little sidebar: I have it on good authority that Marvel Comics has some serious competition from a couple of boys in Liliana’s class. They are creating superheroes, illustrating and writing a comic book. So stand aside Batman and make way for SmithersMan. I can hardly wait to read the first edition. Who knows it might be worth a billion dollars in a hundred years, ha!

Final note; A special thanks to Yeava, one of the Muheim kids, and her friends who took it upon themselves to open up I’m guessing Smithers’ first lemonade stand of 2019. They raised themselves some money. Hooray for young entrepreneurship. Thanks to the Moms who stood in the shadows and did all the work. They could have done anything with their newfound fortune, but guess what they decided to do? At their last visit they presented The Meadows residents and staff with a lovely bouquet of tulips they purchased with the proceeds. Awesome. Thanks very much kids.

Yeava and friends, you have committed a noteworthy act of kindness. So thank you from all the folks at The Meadows. You are a remarkable asset to your community. We love you.

So Smithereens, stop and drop a toonie with the kids who are being entrepreneurial. You might some day be on the receiving end of a random act of kindness.

Meadows People

Smithers



Thom Barker

About the Author: Thom Barker

After graduating with a geology degree from Carleton University and taking a detour through the high tech business, Thom started his journalism career as a fact-checker for a magazine in Ottawa in 2002.
Read more