It wasn’t your usual trick-or-treat on Tuesday morning as a contingent of residents from the Cogir Assisted Living and Memory Care center descended – in costume – on an enthusiastic group of kindergarten through second-graders at Edmonds’ Bloom Early Education Center.

“We have 67 students turning out today for this wonderful activity,” said Miriam Dressler, director of Learning and Education at Bloom.

It’s all part of a special partnership formed earlier this year between Cogir and Bloom that brings children and seniors together to share a range of activities that enrich each other’s lives. Activities so far have included pen pal relationships, the children visiting Cogir to put on a special skit, and Tuesday’s trick-or-treat party. In addition to the planned activities, these events allow time for the children and seniors to talk and engage one-on-one, ask each other questions, play games together and thereby build bridges across generations.

“We’re loving this special relationship with Cogir,” Dressler continued. “Older people are a bit mysterious to youngsters, and this is doing wonders to break through that mystery and build relationships across the generations. Watching this happen, I’ve come to believe that younger children and older adults have much more in common than children and more middle-aged people. And it’s so gratifying watching these relationships build and seeing how they enrich everyone’s lives – even myself as an outside observer.”

— Story and photos by Larry Vogel