On Friday, February 3, 2017, the Midlothian High School Chapter of the Societe Honoraire de Francais (French Honor Society) visited Lexington Court Nursing Home. Following the chapter’s service initiative, to perform acts of service to the Midlothian and Richmond community at large while sharing the gift of French, a group of twelve SHF students volunteered their time. Under the leadership of SHF officers, Maggie Self, Charlotte Bernard, Michael DeMatteo and society sponsor Mme. Mazzola, the group tackled the week-long initiative of preparing and organizing the French bingo (Lotto) initiative.

Lexington Court’s French-themed bingo initiative provided an incredible kick start to SHF’s volunteer movement. Upon arrival, many students felt nervous; however, after brief pep talks and smiles from welcoming faces at Lexington Court Nursing Home, the students knew that this would be a unique and rewarding experience. Throughout the visit, the French students saw the firsthand impact of their service. With the assistance of the Midlo French students, many individuals participated in a French immersion experience they would not have had otherwise. The students and residents played two types of bingo: standard English-number bingo with a twist of French vocabulary phrases and French-picture bingo, in which common items typical in a French house replaced numbers. Overall, the experience proved truly rewarding, with Lexington Court giving an enthusiastic “Merci- Thank You!” upon departure.

Isabel Adkins, remarks, “Getting to help contribute our efforts to those in our community and make their day better was a rewarding experience”.  The SHF is planning another nursing home visit on February 17th at Laurels of University Park Nursing Home. If anyone would like to help, the SHF is collecting prizes to award to the senior citizens during French-themed trivia hour. Please bring all contributions to Mme. Mazzola in room 130. Merci!