MOUNT CARMEL - When Mount Carmel Area Junior-Senior High School students enrolled in the Teens in Innovative Educational Structures (TIES) After School Program, they knew they would gain valuable work experience, but never expected to form such strong friendships with residents of a local retirement community.
As part of a program that began in January, students in the TIES After School Program visit the Mount Carmel Personal Care Community one day a week to learn about nursing home administration and jobs in the field. Students spend time playing bingo, cards and other games with the residents. They also made blankets for the residents and seasonal decorations for their doors. This month, they will dye Easter eggs to celebrate the holiday.
When the students realized residents rarely get an opportunity to leave the facility, including dining in a restaurant, they asked their program coordinator, Mike Tanney, if they could organize an outing to Mattucci's Italian Restaurant in Mount Carmel.
To accommodate the group, Mattucci's closed its back room for the residents and students to share a meal and talk with one another. The restaurant also gave the residents extra bread to take home to share with those who could not attend the outing.
Resident Tony Schetroma, a Marine Corps veteran, shared stories of his school days and talked about his son and grandson. By the end of the meal, he had everyone in the group singing, "You Are My Sunshine."
Mary Kovach, a former pharmacist and lifelong Mount Carmel area resident, enjoyed shrimp pizza and expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to dine in a restaurant. She said of the TIES students and the meal she shared with them, "You don't know how much we appreciate this."
TIES is an after-school program that serves 150 to 200 students during the school year who are in grades seven to 12 in the Shamokin Area and Mount Carmel Area school districts.
The program provides individualized academic support, enrichment and service learning experiences that are not available during the regular school day. TIES focuses on bringing family, school and community together to enable each student to identify career goals as well as develop resiliency and leadership skills.
TIES is a $1,036,800, three-year 21st Century Community Learning Center grant program funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and administered by the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit.