Rice kids share craft time with Genoa center residents

GEONA – For the past six years, siblings Jonah, Elizabeth, Amelia and Sophie Rice, of Genoa, have been making several visits a month to residents at Genoa Care Center.

In doing so, they are following in their mother’s footsteps — only, they are doing it for free.

“I used work here in high school,” said their mother, Angie Rice. “I always saw how much the residents like children, so I wanted to take my children here.”

When her kids got old enough, she called the center to ask how they could help. They were told they needed help with crafts, and that is what the siblings have been doing ever since.

Angie home-schools her children, which allows them the time to invest in the residents’ lives so often — and so early in the day.

“Home-schooling gives us the freedom to do this,” she said. “It’s good for the residents. They just love children. It brings them a lot of joy to interact with kids.”

In addition to helping the residents, Angie believes volunteering benefits her children, as well.

“Sophie is my shiest. It’s really been good for her to reach out and get out of herself more,” she said. “My kids are very comfortable with people outside their own peer group. They get really close to the residents here. One — she’s passed away — used to invite us to family dinners here and buy us Christmas presents.”

Jonah, 15, said he enjoys helping the residents, and Sophie, 10, said working with the residents is fun.

“I like doing the crafts with them,” said Amelia, 12. “It’s fun because I enjoy crafts and I enjoy talking with them. Sometimes, we talk about when they were kids.”

Elizabeth, 14, also likes connecting with the residents.

“I like to talk with the residents I know because I like them,” she said.

And the residents like talking with the Rice kids. Linda Shabnow often visits her mother, Irma Zielke, on craft days, so she knows the Rices well.

“They’re a wonderful family. The kids are so much fun,” she said. “They work so well with the residents, and they’re so polite. They just have a good time.”

Ruth Smothers is one of those residents having fun.

“I love it. I like anything crafty, and the kids are very friendly and very helpful,” she said.

Genoa Care Center’s Life Enrichment Director, Candace Camp, said the center’s parent company, Trilogy Health Services, encourages intergenerational activities. It benefits everyone involved.

“Our residents love when kids come in. It makes them smile,” Camp said. “And it lets kids see a different view of old age and tears down some of the stereotypes. Aging doesn’t have to be scary. Kids can see (that) you can still have fun when you’re older. That doesn’t have to change.”

Getting kids into the center also provides them with a realistic image of nursing homes.

“It gives them a brighter viewpoint of nursing homes. They’re not what they used to be,” Camp said. “We try to have as much fun with our residents as we can. We try to make them laugh every day.”

The Rice family is a big part of that whenever they visit.

“They’re very friendly and very helpful. They’re great with the residents,” Camp said.