North Bay residents fete bride-to-be Activity aide delighted to have Wedding Party for her 'second family'   Wednesday April 21, 2010 -- Lisa Bailey Residents at Leisureworld Caregiving Centre North Bay celebrated a milestone with Jennifer Edworthy. They enjoyed a ‘Wedding Party’ program to celebrate Edworthy’s February nuptials. The bride-to-be, who is an activity aide at the North Bay long-term care home, gave the staff idea her blessing. “I loved it because I love them,” Edworthy says of the residents. “They’re a second family. I see them more than I see my own family so everything that goes in our lives they want to share in and they’re very excited about it,” she says. “It was nice to have them be a part of that. It was the next best thing to having them there (at the wedding), that’s for sure.” Held two weeks before the matrimonial ceremony, the program was eagerly anticipated by residents, notes program manager Rose Jasmin. More than 20 residents attended to wish Edworthy well in her marriage. More residents would have come but an outbreak confined them to their floor. The activity room was decked out in bridal-shower fashion, with streamers and balloons in the colours of Edworthy’s wedding. A big banner featuring the bride and groom that had been made for another pre-nuptial event, was brought in by a staff member who was also in the wedding party. The residents enjoyed games such as a word scramble using matrimonial terms and transferring cotton balls from one bowl to another while blindfolded. Everyone wore clothespins bearing the word ‘wedding’ and they were removed when the holder said the word. The person with the most pins at the end of the session won a prize. The highlight of the program undoubtedly came when teams of residents worked together to make dresses out of toilet paper for the bride and two others. Participants voted on the best dress and the creators won a prize. Participants also received invitations and later enjoyed cake and beverages. While the program was an opportune time to test various skills of residents through the games, it also allowed them to socialize and stimulated their memory. “It was nice to reminisce about their weddings and what they did and how times have changed. I think they felt they were part of something,” Edworthy says. Edworthy, in fact, had invited a few residents to her wedding. One of them couldn’t attend due to the outbreak at the home. Another resident had died the previous year. Edworthy carried a picture of the woman in her bouquet as she walked down the aisle. “She was a sweetie and she was so excited, she was going to wear a yellow dress,” Edworthy says of the resident. “I’m sure she was there.” Residents are now just as thrilled about another milestone in Edworthy’s life. “I am expecting now so maybe we’ll have a baby shower program,” she says. The wedding program was submitted to Leisureworld’s Purposeful Programming initiative. The program library, developed earlier this year, shares innovative programming ideas across Leisureworld’s 26 long-term care homes. If you have feedback on this article, please contact the newsroom at 800-294-0051, ext. 25, or e-mail lisa(at)axiomnews.ca.