Nellie helps decorate wheelchairs for the parade

June 28, 2010 – Katy, Texas – Girl Scout Nellie McClellan has patriotic spirit and she is spreading it around the Oakmont Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center of Katy.  As part of her service project to earn the Girl Scout Silver Award, McClellan and her twin sister Maureen have been volunteering at the nursing home this summer. With the guidance of her advisor, Johnnie Jackson, activities director at Oakmont, Nellie is planning a Fourth of July program for the residents and their families on Friday, July 2.  She recruited friends from the local community, including band mates from Katy Taylor High School and family to help with the special event.

“One of my fondest memories growing up was decorating my bike and riding it in our neighborhood’s Fourth of July parade with my friends,” says McClellan. “I thought having a parade would bring a little cheer into the lives of these residents who have become my friends. I also knew they would enjoy live music so I asked some of my friends in my school band to play with me.”

The festivities will begin with a patriotic wheelchair parade throughout the facility. Helpers will adorn wheelchairs with red, white and blue décor and give residents flags and pom-poms to wave.  Everyone will wear red, white or blue and have kazoos to make music as they roll through the hallways. The parade will end at the outside pavilion where sparklers will be lit. Then, families of residents are invited to join residents for a “cookout” lunch of hamburgers and hot dogs. After lunch, McClellan will lead a musical ensemble in patriotic music and encourage residents to read poems and sing along.

“We are so excited about the Fourth of July activities that Nellie has worked so hard to coordinate,” says Jackson. “I don’t know what tomorrow will hold, but I do know we will make a lot of people smile on Independence Day.”

For more information about getting involved with Girl Scouting in the Katy area, please e-mail Registrar Liz Meservey at silverspurgirls@gmail.com.  Please mention you found this on www.KatyMagazine.com.

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