St. Nicholas Home does the hula

Heat could not stop the seniors at St. Nicholas Home, decked out in leis, from having a blast as a Hawaiian dancer performed at their afternoon luau on Thursday July 16.

It was all great and she did a good job,” stated resident Joe McHugh.

This event, in its second year, is organized by the hospital’s administration with Hospital Audiences Inc. (HAI). HAI organizes events for senior citizens through government agencies such as the Department for the Aging and with funding from donations.

The original plan was to have the luau outdoors but due to the extreme heat, but both the home and HAI were obligated by the city to take the luau indoors to the air conditioning.

Lori Tesoriero, administrator at St. Nicholas, a not-for-profit institution, and Anne Sorenson, St. Nicholas’ coordinator for the event, worked with On-Site Performance Program Coordinator Frederick Orange to arrange for a Hawaiian dancer, Marina Celanders of Dance Aloha, to entertain the seniors at their luau.

Resident Joseph Deforte enjoyed how the dancing made him feel as though he has travelled back in time to a prior vacation in Hawaii, “I’ve visited Hawaii and I appreciate that the dancing was from a Hawaiian,” he remarked

“I loved it,” said resident Margaret Clemens. “We should have more of this.”

Sorenson praised HAI, calling it, a fantastic group and Freddy Orange (of HAI) …a wonderful gentleman.”

St. Nicholas Home, located at 425 Ovington Avenue, is known as the “Jewel of Bay Ridge” and currently houses 68 seniors. To be accepted into the home, these seniors must be 55 years or older as well as physically, socially and mentally evaluated by the onsite social worker. The home prides itself on being a home away from home for seniors, who would rather stay in their community than go elsewhere.