The Philadelphia Eagles may not have won the Super Bowl but it certainly wasn’t due to a lack of support from their fans at Phoebe Allentown Healthcare Center. Before the big game on Sunday, Allentown Central Catholic High School students shared a little spirit with the residents in the form of a pep rally.
“They went crazy and put on a nice show. The entire drumline showed up and they fed off each other,” said Phoebe community life coordinator Diane Kendra. “I was so happy with that outcome. Central Catholic students are the best kids in the Lehigh Valley.”
The pep rally took place on Friday, two days before the game. It was facilitated through Kendra’s husband, a physical education teacher and football coach at Central Catholic. Residents and students both brought their game day spirit and made it a fun and raucous atmosphere as they prepared for their beloved “Birds” to take on the Kansas City Chiefs.
The noise level was about a “50-50 split” between residents and students, according to resident named Donald. While there may have been a large age gap, the camaraderie between these groups of Eagles fans was evident. Many of the residents are Allentown Central Catholic grads themselves. residents and staff can all agree that “the kids are alright.”
“One of the students had a grandmother that was in a facility and had passed away and it meant a lot to him to come here,” said Kendra. “I watched how they interacted with the residents. They wanted to meet, they wanted to converse; they were self-starters. [Afterwards] they had to high tail it back to the school because they had a girl’s and boy’s basketball game.”
While it was a short visit, it will not be the last. On Easter, they will have another meetup.
“They’re going to come in and do our egg hunt and they’re going to do some voluntary for their community service,” said Kendra “It’ll be outside in our front circle with the staff, the residents, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and family. We usually have a nice turnout for that.”
