TOWSON, Md. >> Students in the eighth grade class at Loyola Blakefield School, a Catholic all-boys school in Towson, held a prom in late April for older adults in their town, including those with memory loss.

The idea for “A Walk Down Memory Lane” was developed by the students after they attended an Alzheimer’s Association program that explained how social isolation contributes to cognitive decline in older adults, according to Renee Johnson with the association’s Greater Maryland Chapter. The students also learned about dementia behaviors so they can interact with people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, Johnson said.

More than 100 prom attendees and their caregivers enjoyed lunch, music and prizes at Wheeler Hall on the Loyola Blakefield campus. The event was sponsored by Avila Home Care, Greater Baltimore Medical Center, health system LifeBridge Health, hospice care provider Gilcrest Center Towson and the Alzheimer’s Association.

Area residents, family members from the Loyola community and residents from several senior living communities were among those who enjoyed the event.

Professional caregivers from Avila were on hand to give caregivers a break and assist guests who were dropped off. But most caregivers, like Jennifer Hales of Reisterstown, Md., stayed for the party.

Hales brought her mother, Sue Hoke, 76, who lives at Springwell Senior Living in Baltimore and has dementia. “When I heard about the prom, I knew I had to bring Mom,” Hales said.

They were a constant pair on the dance floor, Johnson said.

Gretchen Maneval, a Loyola parent who organized the event, said one resident came from the suburb of Pikesville, just outside of Baltimore. “Miss Jeannette,” as she called her, organized her own ride, arrived an hour early and was the last to leave, Maneval said.

Maneval came up with the idea from her days as a student at Towson High School in the late ’80s and early ’90s, when the school organized a senior citizens prom.

Maneval works at Avila and asked for the company’s support. With her son, Sebastian Haber, 14, who is in the Loyola Blakefield class, and his friends, they hand-delivered invitations with a drawing created by her 10-year-old son, Spencer Haber.

A few classmates also escorted Sebastian as he made his “promposal” to his grandmother, Maneval’s mother, Kathy Dickinson, 79, a week before the big dance.

Mothers and daughters, grandsons and grandmothers, and even a couple of great-grandsons and great-grandmas got out on the dance floor. Maneval said there were several seniors in their 90s who attended.

“The seniors were so overjoyed to be celebrated and honored, and made to feel special,” Maneval said. “Many said it had been quite a while since they’d been in a gathering like that. One gentleman said, ‘You made my day, my week, my whole year.’”

Guests submitted songs from their youth in advance for the DJ’s playlist. Among their favorites were “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” by the Platters; “Rockin’ Robin,” by Bobby Day; and “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree,” by Tony Orlando and Dawn.

The music evoked happy times and wonderful memories, even for a few with memory loss who sang along with the songs, Maneval said.

“They did the conga line — whether in a walker, wheelchair or in their seats — and moved their hands to ‘YMCA,’” she said.

The students also got something out of the event, Maneval said. The prom provided an opportunity for them to interact with their elders; such encounters have been limited since the pandemic. They also learned how their actions can make a difference in the lives of others.

“The connection is so important for both generations,” Maneval said. “The boys want to learn and the seniors want to share.”