Belting out `80s tunes and doing the foxtrot, Boston University students came together last night to entertain the elderly at the Kenmore Abbey.
Residents of the Community Service House joined forces with the Dear Abbeys and the Golden Key Honor Society to dazzle their audience with dancing, games and music from BU’s only all-male A cappella singing group.
“Kenmore Abbey is a low-income housing place for seniors and the mentally disabled,” said Penny Lancaster, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences and resident of the Community Service House. “This gives them company and entertainment, and it’s a good opportunity to get to know them.”
The event was organized by Vedant Kulkarni, a senior in CAS and resident of the Community Service House, and has become a monthly program with Kenmore Abbey. Kulkarni is the Resident Advisor of the House, and said a part of living in the house is a request each of the 14 residents do at least 10 hours of community service per month.
“Most people end up doing quite a bit more,” Kulkarni said, adding the Kenmore Abbey program was initiated in efforts to develop a continuous community service effort for the house. Past activities have included Valentine’s Day art projects and Guesstures tournaments.
Last nights event featured performances by the Dear Abbeys, who sang five songs, including “Shenandoah” and “Take On Me.”
“We came down because we thought it was a good cause,” said Dave Blauch, a member of the group and senior in CAS and the School of Education. “We like to sing to different people in different places. This is somewhere we’ve never sang before.”
The BU Ballroom Dance Club also entertained the Kenmore residents, demonstrating six dances including the foxtrot, swing and the hustle. Afterward, dancers invited the residents to learn the basics of the foxtrot, led by Jessica Lee, a junior in the College of Communication.
“It was a really good experience. We’re going to try to continue with community service. It was cool to teach elderly people how to dance,” Lee said.
The Kenmore Abbey program has been met with positive reviews from students and residents, according to program organizers. “All the residents are very enthusiastic about the students coming,” Kulkarni said.
“What I have attended, I have enjoyed every time,” said Efferee Ledbetter, a Kenmore Abbey resident. “It’s a great group of kids. They’re friendly and outgoing.”
“The kids are doing a very good job. It’s just what we need,” said Leola Kennedy, also a Kenmore Abbey resident. “They should do it more often. We really appreciate students coming out and giving us a couple hours of entertainment.”
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
