When the members of Teach to Reach Teens — a nonprofit organization serving Fredericksburg area youth — sought to come up with a community service project, they thought of seniors who might lack a healthy social outlet.
That was the genesis of the community cafe that was held at the Mayfield Civic Association building on Monday in Fredericksburg.
Seniors filtered in throughout the day. They were offered refreshments, health screenings, board games, a crafts table, prayer and even a free hand massage.
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To register for Teach to Reach Teens, fill out a student application at teachtoreachteens.com. Donation information and sponsorship opportunities are also available on the website.
“This was the students’ idea,” Teach to Reach Teens founder Robyn Wilson said. “We sat down, and I explained to them what community engagement looks like. We did trash pickup in different communities ,and then I said, ‘OK, we have to do something once a month to give back. They said, ‘Let’s give back to the seniors because some of them are forgotten.’”
Wilson said that in Mayfield, many longtime residents have passed away in recent years, leaving friends and family members home alone. Some aren’t getting out of the house at all.
“They don’t have an outlet,” she said.
Pastor Dominic Green of New Destiny Baptist Church prays with a senior who visited the community cafe Monday at the Mayfield Civic Association building in Fredericksburg (Photo by Taft Coghill Jr.)
For the community cafe, Teach to Reach Teens partnered with Shanna Belsches, a registered nurse who works at the Bowling Green Health and Rehab Center, to provide free blood pressure checks as well as information on hypertension and diabetes.
Belsches created a chart to alert seniors to normal and elevated blood pressure and blood sugar levels. When one senior advised that she had taken her blood pressure medication but was still elevated after Belsches’ check, the nurse informed the senior that she should check with her primary care doctor to see if a change in medication is needed.
“I grew up in the Mayfield area all my life,” Belsches said. “I’ve been a nurse since 2008. My specialty is geriatric nursing, and I love my older people. When Robyn reached out to me to do this event, I was honored to do it … It’s something I’m very passionate about and I’m grateful for the opportunity.”
Teach to Reach Teens meets every second and fourth Monday from 5-6:30 p.m. at the Mayfield Civic Association. They also meet every first and third Friday after school at Walker-Grant Middle School. There are currently 18 youths from Fredericksburg and the surrounding counties who consistently participate in the program.
Wilson said that Fredericksburg City Schools Superintendent Marci Catlett partnered with the organization to provide mentorship and guidance to youth in the city. When the group meets at Walker-Grant, University of Mary Washington freshmen volunteer their time, provide tutoring and assistance with homework.
Wilson said the organization’s mission is to “promote scholarship, leadership, partnership and healthy living to a diverse group of students.”
Teach to Reach Teens also offers college preparatory assistance, help with job applications, money management advice as well as lessons on etiquette, communications and image.
Wilson’s 16-year-old son, Elijah Wilson, who owns and operates a clothing business called “Created Equal,” led his peers during a course on youth entrepreneurship.
“The program is designed to provide teens with the necessary tools for successful living while transitioning from teenage to adulthood,” Robyn Wilson said. “So, when they get in the real world, it won’t be such a culture shock.”
Pastor Dominic Green of New Destiny Baptist Church just across the street from Mayfield was on hand at the senior cafe offering prayer.
Green said the event shows the intuitiveness of area youth.
“All of us old folk, we’re getting out of here one day,” Green said. “These little kids are going to take this thing over … You can try to stiff-arm them all you want. But these young folks are going to be in charge of something real soon, and the knowledge and the wisdom we can give them is invaluable.”
