Wesleyan students are known for being passionate about the causes that they care about, whether it is hunger in the developing world, gender inequality, carbon dioxide emissions, or food politics. With all the powerful opinions expressed on these issues, and all the dynamic activity that take place around campus, the value of simply walking into Middletown to play cards with an elderly lady can seem dim in comparison.  Yet, a quick chat with anyone involved in the Wesleyan Elderly Services program is enough to prove just how much of an impact one round of Hearts can have.

The Elderly Services program incorporates a broad range of activities, from weekly visits to the One MacDonough Assisted Living Center in Middletown to on-call assistance for various events at St. Luke’s Hospital.  Currently the members are even organizing a talent show at the Senior Center by Broad Street Books, which will incorporate the University’s very own Wesleyan Spirits and Gag Reflex performance groups.

Dave Frankel, the program coordinator at One MacDonough, described his observations on what students do with the residents each week.

“They come down here and socialize: some play card games, some just sit and talk, some interview them on their memories of historical events for academic projects,” Frankel said. “One group came down and cooked a roast chicken dinner for a dozen residents. That was awesome.”

Manal Shehade, a graduate student on exchange from Israel/Palestine, takes part in these weekly visits. Recently, she found herself the rather unlikely fourth member of a bridge group down at the center.

“There’s Fred, Lee, Betty and me– every Friday we play bridge or poker,” she said.  “Fred’s actually from Middletown and went to Wesleyan, and gets to tell me all his crazy stories about being in a fraternity.”

Fred’s fraternity days appear to be quite legendary among those involved in the service program and such stories have become a cornerstone of the program.  Sofia Warren ’13, the program coordinator, also cited them as an example of the wild stories that the residents have to share.

“There’s this one guy, Fred, who likes to talk about how he was president of a frat that burned down: apparently it was where the power plant is now on the way to Broad Street Books,” Warren said.

Although his fraternity days are over, Fred has apparently retained his liveliness in his bridge games.

“He always tries to cheat, and Betty always yells at him,” Shehade said with a laugh.

Shehade’s relationship with Fred exemplifies just what Frankel says students get out of participating in the program.

“Students get to learn about stuff they missed out on before their time, and get to see that old people are really fun to be around,” Frankel said.  “We have social, outgoing people who are in their nineties, and social, outgoing people who are in their late teens and early twenties.  And the people who are in there nineties—let me tell you— when they were in their twenties, they were crazy.  They share all the stuff they used to do.”

Melanie Koren ’13, who also participates in the program, echoed this description of the friendly dynamic between the students and residents.

“I’d say my relationships are primarily friendships,” she said.  “The residents obviously have much more life experience, but at the same time they want to make you feel comfortable and just enjoy joking around.”

The intimate perspective into different historical periods was also cited as a major benefit that students get out of the program.

“You get to hear the residents’ stories and what they went through, a lot of them lived through World War II or Vietnam or North Korea,” Koren said. “Or you just get to hear about how different Wesleyan and Middletown used to be.”

Although the students have much to gain from the program, the value of what it gives to the residents is what truly stands out.

“Because of mobility issues, they don’t get out a lot, and when you’re shut in all the time it can feel like life’s passing you by, but bringing schools in reminds them that they are part of the fabric of the community,” Frankel said.  “And they also really love the students. I mean the students who come down here are pretty special people.  It’s Friday, the start of the weekend, and they’re coming in to sit down and talk to old people.”

Shehade offered her own perspective on how much these visits mean to the residents.

“One of the men I know hasn’t had a visitor from his family in over a year, so these visits are incredibly important to him,” she said.  “Also, they are seeing the same faces every day, so when we come it provides them with new faces since it’s not the same exact group every week.”

And for the residents, as with the visitors, that variation of experience, Shehade elaborated, can make a world of difference in their lives.

“They once told me that we wait for you to come because you make us feel younger,” she said. “They have a lot of things to do during the week, but this allows them to talk to younger people—and they want that.”