BATON ROUGE – Most people reserve Valentines Day for people that are close to their heart, and that is why LSU’s student-athletes went out of their way to visit the residents of Southside Gardens Retirement Center And Assisted Living. LSU’s student-athletes hosted their annual event called Heart of a Tiger, where they enjoyed food, music, and games with all the residents.
For many of the residents, the best part of the day contained a competitive game of Bingo, while they visited with the student-athletes. During Bingo, the residents were competing with each other for a poster that would be signed by all the student-athletes at the event. The competitive atmosphere put a smile on many people’s faces, and everyone seemed to be enjoying the company of one another.
“It was wonderful, I really had a good time. Everybody had a good time, this the best,” said Belle Duplechin, a resident of the Southside Gardens Retirement Center And Assisted Living.
All the residents appreciated the company of the students-athletes, and some described it as one of the most exciting events that have taken place at Southside Gardens all year.
“This has just been a fun experience, for people to come and share their time with us, it is appreciated,” said Mary Eunice, another resident of the Southside Gardens Retirement Center And Assisted Living.
Many of the student-athletes also seemed to be enjoying themselves too, and some of them learned a few interesting facts about the residents of at the Southside Gardens Retirement Center And Assisted Living.
“It was a great opportunity, and we even met a woman who taught swim lessons at the Huey P. Long pool at LSU in 1939, so that was really exciting to get to hear her experiences and compare them with ours,” said Angele Cherbonnier, a member of the LSU swimming and diving team.
A couple of the student-athletes enjoyed the event so much that they are already looking forward to next year.
“I loved coming here today our whole team had a great time, and we would love to do this again,” said Sydney Cavin, a member of the LSU women’s golf team. “It was great getting to play Bingo with all the nice people and we really enjoyed every minute of it.”
The love was well received from the residents and student-athletes this Valentines Day, and the staff also want to take their time to let LSU know that this is well appreciated.
“We had an absolutely amazing day, our residents loved hanging out with the athletes,” said Stephanie Passmore, the activity director at the Southside Gardens Retirement Center And Assisted Living. “They all walked away with posters that I’m sure they are going to hang up in their apartments because they are all fans, but overall it was successful.”