Parents are challenged entertaining their children in the summer and recognizing this The Palace Renaissance and Royale, located on The Palace continuing care campus in Kendall, saw this as an opportunity to create an intergenerational summer camp.
The assisted living community sponsored a two-week camp for employees’ children ranging in age from 5-12 at no cost to employees.
Activities for the children were planned daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“The senior residents and youngsters enjoyed many of the camp activities together,” explained Ricardo Martinez, executive director for
The Renaissance and Royale.
To keep all ages engaged, there were arts and crafts, Bingo, exercising, movies, and board games daily.
“The children had the opportunity to interact with the seniors and vice versa. There is a wealth of benefits that can be derived for young and old alike,” Martinez added. “The camp gave the children greater access to older people and offered opportunities to communicate with them.
“The exposure to children brings a spark to the eyes of residents. The children may remind them of their own grandchildren. Everyone seems to thrive from this interaction and each day the results are magical,” he added.
The Palace kitchen prepared a daily lunch and parents were able to join their children and have lunch and snacks together. The staff enjoyed bringing their children to work too.
“The children, including my own, get to see where mom and dad works and what they do during their day,” Martinez said.
To learn more about The Palace communities, visit www.ThePalace.org.
