Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Elvis were crooning as a crowd of seniors and young people kicked up their heels and headed to the dance floor yesterday at an intergenerational dance in Southold.
The Guidance Center presented the 1st Annual Autumn Social, for seniors ages 65 and older, on Sunday at Founders Landing.
The event, according to Guidance Center executive director Susan Toman, included dinner, dancing, friendship and music by entertainer DJ Jim Papa.
The meal was provided by local eateries.
The Guidance Center in Southold offers a full semester of programs and events geared toward helping kids choose healthy alternatives to drugs and alcohol.
Toman says families and the community all need to join together to help young people stay proactive in making positive choices.
“Studies have indicated that if youth hear a message of prevention, of good health and living well, and connecting to community, from a variety of sources including, of course, home, school, place of worship and within the community, as well as align with friends of similar beliefs, odds are very good the youth will be successful,” Toman said.
Programs include The Guidance Center’s tween and teen dances, for kids ages 12 to 15, held at Head Start on Main Bayview Road in Southold, featuring age-appropriate prevention messages and well-chaperoned activities, Toman said. A Halloween-themed dance was held recently.
Even during the summer months, The Guidance Center works to keep teens healthy: Recently, the Summer Wellness program for tweens and teens was a two-week program offered free to local youth.
