Life changed suddenly for the whole world when COVID-19 arrived, and with it came the need for elderly people to quarantine in Senior Homes. Especially our seniors became immersed in a new reality which has had a huge impact on their lives.

In the last days of October, we honor Polish American Heritage Month at St. Joseph’s Senior Home by celebrating Polish culture with our Residents. 

Polish American Heritage Month is an annual event celebrated in October by Polish American communities. It was first celebrated in 1981 by the Polish American Cultural Center organization in Philadelphia. 

The room of our cafeteria was decorated with white and red balloons and other theme decorations. We also had a couple of traditional Polish folk clothing to show. One of our musically talented employees, Chester, was our DJ today and he played an array of music for our residents. Whether he was playing Polish songs or American songs, the residents enjoyed the nice music. 

“Such a fun time! The guy who played Polish music and the dancers were awesome! Reminded me of our Polish family picnics when I was young.” – Jennie

We also couldn’t forget to play both the national anthems of Poland and the United States. All of this was done with proper social distancing guidelines in place. In order to follow those guidelines, we had the residents put into two separate groups to guarantee maximum safety, each group enjoyed the music that was playing, after that, they received a sweet treat and a cool beverage. 

“I’m not Polish, but it didn’t matter. There were food and fun for everybody! I spent over an hour watching the dancers work their magic.”  – St. Joseph’s Senior Home employee 

Today’s celebration bonded our residents and united them with joy and love and showed us once again that even a pandemic cannot keep our spirits apart.

“What a great time and beautiful decorations. The atmosphere was amazing as well as desserts and Polish music.” – Gloria

WE SPEAK POLISH: