"I wanted to come and say, 'Hi,'" said Victoria Rodriguez, 10, as she greeted Jeannine Nadeau, 78, a dialysis patient.

"My nana is 78 too!" chimed in Andrea Ponce, 9. "But she lost all her tooths, I mean teeth."

Cora Townsend, center, 77, is all smiles as she receives a gift from Victoria Rodriguez, left, 10, from Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School in Moreno Valley. Elena Diaz, right, activity director for Integrated Care Communities assisted living in Moreno Valley, wraps Townsend in the gifted scarf.

The 15 visitors are fourth- and fifth-graders at Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary in the Val Verde Unified School District. The children delivered cheer and goodwill Thursday evening as they mingled with 35 residents of the Integrated Community Center on Nason Street.

The event was part of a county-sponsored program, Friday Night Live, that keeps at-risk youths busy with activities to keep them away from drugs and alcohol.

"We're trying to turn them into leaders," said group advisor Tracey Lang, who teaches at Bethune and organized the get-together.

From all appearance, she's succeeding. The children, mostly girls, wearing Santa Claus caps, confidently strode into the center, sidled up to the seniors and started schmoozing.

"I love this," declared Aniya Guichard, 10. "I get to care, to give presents. It doesn't scare me at all."

Victoria's mother, Donna Rodriguez, 31, said she knew that her daughter would blend in well because she has "an old soul. She worries a lot about the comfort of others."

It was Victoria's first time in an assisted living center.Lucia Rust, left and Yoko Nishimoto, right, celebrate after getting their number called during a bingo game Thursday.

Lucia Rust, left and Yoko Nishimoto, right, celebrate after getting their number called during a bingo game Thursday.

"I always wanted to come to a place like this," she said. "I was kinda scared, but everyone is so nice, so cute."

Yoko Nishimoto, whose shock of white stood straight up, explained to Victoria how she's made it to 88: "I never smoked or drank hard liquor and I love being active."

Nishimoto crossed her fingers during a cliffhanger Bingo game as Lucia Rust, 11, hovered nearby to spot winning numbers.

"I'm here cuz I'm helping the citizens of the community center," Lucia declared.

For their parts, the residents couldn't resist dispensing a little advice.

Maxine Williamson, a 95-year-old retired economics teacher, told Sarah Picazo, 10: "You can do anything you put your mind to. Study hard and get a scholarship."

Between rounds of Bingo, the students crooned such hits as "Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," accompanied by school resource specialist Lois Homma on electronic keyboard, one of the top crocheters.

Maria Celeste Gomez, 10, looking festive in a fancy green top, preferred singing to scarf-making. "I don't know how to knit," she said, throwing up her hands.

Norma Lane, 84, unfurled a long black scarf from its careful wrapping. "I'll wear it," she said. "But not now. It's too hot."


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