events Remembering Miss Donna
Remembering Miss Donna Image
Remembering Miss Donna

Today is a sad day for Neighborhood House - we are saying goodbye to our dear friend, Donna Kidd. Miss Donna joined our program in 2007 and spent several days each week with us in the years since. If Miss Donna looks familiar, it may be because we introduced you to her last summer in a story about monthly birthday parties celebrated with our friends from a nearby elementary school. We also introduced you to Derrick, a student who'd celebrated his shared birthday with Miss Donna each of the last nine years.

Miss Donna was always present for twice-weekly Bingo games and holiday parties throughout the year, where she was always happy to lend a helping hand. She took such joy in helping her community and spending time with her greatest love, her family. We, like so many others, miss her already.

Originally published in June 2019

Students and teachers from Little Flock Christian Academy visit Neighborhood House’s senior adults every month, bringing with them everything needed to throw a birthday party. They celebrate every member of our Four Seasons program who has a birthday that month -- and each person even gets their own cake. Derrick is one of these students.

Now an eighth grader at Little Flock, Derrick has been visiting Miss Donna every year since he was in kindergarten. “He started sitting with me and before I knew it, he was my buddy,” she said. They even share the same birthday, May 29th!

Miss Donna has been attending to the Four Seasons program since 2007. She enjoys playing Bingo twice a week with the friends she’s made, but the healthy cooking classes take the cake as her favorite Neighborhood House activity. For several years, she’s kept the recipes she’s learned in a binder and still uses them.

Like many seniors, Miss Donna credits the community she found at Neighborhood House for keeping her active and providing her with a support system. Intergenerational bonds are proven to benefit both the senior and the child. We know; we see it every day. Derrick will soon be a Little Flock graduate and move on to high school in the fall, and we will welcome a new group of students to the extended Neighborhood House family.