BRUNSWICK, Ohio — Student journalists with the Brunswick Beat Video Program showed some local seniors a little love today with some help from two Cleveland Cavaliers legends, Larry Nance, Sr. and Michael “Campy” Russell.
The program is entirely self-funded and the money that keeps it going is raised through sponsorships and donations. Two of those sponsors are Plum Creek Senior Living Community and Brunswick Danbury.
Both are assisted living communities, so students spent part of their Saturday morning showing gratitude to the seniors who live there by delivering handmade Valentine’s Day cards to the seniors there.
“It's great entertainment. It brings you back to light,” said Ernest Fields, a Plum Creek resident.
David Faga, another Plum Creek resident, said he enjoys the company of the students.
“It means so much to us here because we don’t get a lot of visitors sometimes, so it's wonderful to have people, younger people, come in and interact with us,” Faga said.
Every year Plum Creek and Brunswick Danbury donate $3,000 to the Beat so the students can continue to write stories, do on-camera interviews, edit, shoot, and produce TV segments. So for the last five years, the Beat has been giving back.
“It's a great experience just to see the residents smile. Whenever they get a card, you really are brightening their day,” said Matthew Kovach, a student in the program.
This year, the seniors were given an extra special treat as Nance Sr. and Russell also stopped by to hand out those cards with the students.
“Once I heard about this one, I volunteered for it right away because this is such a wonderful thing these kids are doing, and I’m just glad to be part of it,” Nance Sr. said.
“It's just the right thing to do, you know. And to come out and be able to bring a cheer to somebody, that’s a great thing, and that’s why I said I applaud these students for what they’re doing,” Russell said.
Their presence only added more to a day these seniors will never forget.
“Got to talk to Larry a little bit,” Faga said. “Pretty fun to just talk to him and see him in person because when I was growing up about 20 years ago when he was playing, I saw him on the TV all the time so for him to be here in person, it's pretty magical.”
Jade Jarvis is a reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
