Episcopal School of Acadiana students — some dressed as Santa Claus and his helpers — served supper to seniors and disabled residents of the School Days Apartment facility Tuesday evening.

For the second year in a row, in partnership with Solomon House food pantry, the students threw a Christmas party for the residents, bringing them food and gifts. 

Four years ago, Solomon House Executive Director Ellen Nora said, students began a program called Adopt-a-Gran.

“They would adopt one resident, a grandma or grandpa, and they would bring them gifts for Christmas — hats, mittens, that sort of thing,” Nora said. “Then last year, they decided to adopt the whole building.”

Nora said students received fact sheets filled out by every resident in the apartment building describing the residents’ interests, hobbies and items on their Christmas wishlist. Those fact sheets went out to ESA’s campuses in Cade and in Lafayette. 

“They got together and made sure every client here was adopted by somebody,” Nora said. “We’re making this an annual thing.” 

Mel Placide was there for the inaugural year. A six-year resident of the apartments, Placide said he loves the event.

“I’ve got a jacket upstairs from last year,” Placide said. “It’s great.” 

Nora said many of the residents at School Days also are volunteers at Solomon House, just across the street. 

Gwen Rowzee, who has lived at School Days for just six months, has been volunteering at Solomon House for four of those months.

“I heard about them from a friend, so I went over to see if they needed any help,” Rowzee said. “They said, ‘Yes! We need volunteers — you can start today.” 

She was just digging into a dinner delivered by a high school student dressed head-to-toe as one of Santa’s elves. 

“This is great, the food is good,” she said. 

A mound of presents spilled out from the side of a Christmas tree in a far corner of the room. Each had a paper cutout of a gingerbread man attached to it, with the name and essential facts of each resident, gleaned from the fact sheets. 

Andy Hebert, a semi-retired architect, gave a presentation based on his coloring book, “Christmas on a Bayou: A Folk Tale.”

“I like to say I’m an educating entertainer or an entertaining educator,” Hebert said.

His stepdaughter, Michelle Hunter, was there as part of the Solomon House-ESA program.

The focus of his presentation, Hebert said, was on teaching his audience to appreciate and find beauty in the natural world while still entertaining the crowd. The coloring activity book, he said, was meant for children and parents, to get them interacting more.

“And that’s what this is really all about,” he said, gesturing toward the high school students moving through the dinner tables of the older residents. “Getting young and old to interact, drawing stories out.”