GlamourGals brings young adults, older LIers together for manicures, conversation

The sounds of happy chatter and laughter filled the activity room of a Nesconset assisted living facility recently, when a group of teens — affectionately known as the “girls in pink” — dropped by for an afternoon of manicures and conversation.

Once a month, students from Smithtown East High School — almost all wearing pink T-shirts — visit Amber Court of Smithtown to chat with residents, paint their nails and help them complete a seasonal craft. On this Sunday, the group of 10 teens worked with about 40 residents to make a wreath decorated with seasonal stickers and caught up with one another like old friends — which, for many, they are.

“They’re not just doing it for community service,” said Victoria Lynch, 78. “They enjoy us and we enjoy them.”

The students are members of their school’s GlamourGals chapter, a nonprofit started 25 years ago by Commack native Rachel Doyle to ease social isolation in older adults by partnering them with teens, who would give them beauty makeovers. The organization has since grown to 2,000 members nationwide, with chapters in both high schools and colleges, and it expanded during the pandemic to include a card-writing campaign.

That campaign, called My Dear Friend, has been so successful that GlamourGals recently launched a special initiative to send 50,000 cards to assisted-living residents by Dec. 15.

But even as the organization has evolved, Doyle said the mission has stayed the same: “It’s about the experience of connecting with another human being, another generation, and the conversations it creates,” she said. “That’s the heart of the GlamourGals makeover experience.”

HONORING HER GRANDMOTHER

Doyle, now 41, said she started the group in 1999, with the first makeover in 2000, when she was a junior at Commack High School. She founded it in honor of her grandmother, Justine “Teeny” Doyle, who died at an assisted living home in Nevada.

“I wasn’t able to visit her that often,” said Doyle, the organization’s chief executive. When her grandmother died, she was inspired to help other assisted living residents who also might not have family who lived near them.

The name GlamourGals came about because, Doyle said, “I was 17 and loved fashion and beauty, so went with the idea of the beauty parlor and those connections, of helping them feel dignified and beautiful and making people smile.”

She laughed as she recalled the early days of the organization.

“I’m dating myself — I opened the yellow pages and called every makeup company to see if they would donate,” she said. “I knew nothing.”

She remembers pitching her proposal to a nursing home activities director, who she said asked her detailed questions about the group’s sponsor and what she planned to do. “I came out and climbed in the car with my mom and said, ‘Mom, what’s a corporate sponsor?’ ”

The organization now has 150 chapters, including several on Long Island. In addition to Smithtown East, there are high school chapters at Commack, Half Hollow Hills West in Dix Hills, Newfield in Selden, Saint Mary’s Preparatory High School in Manhasset and Sanford H. Calhoun High School in Merrick.

Leadership development has become integral to the program, which offers training and six college scholarships per year to its network of largely teen volunteers, ranging from $500 to a full ride at Saint Peter’s University in Jersey City, New Jersey.

When the pandemic caused U.S. shutdowns in 2020 and in-person visits were not possible, Doyle said the group switched to writing cards and letters to residents to maintain social connections. The My Dear Friend campaign has continued to be popular, even with most chapters back to doing in-person activities, Doyle said.

Businesses have also joined the card-writing campaign, Doyle said, using it to sponsor service-oriented employee opportunities. The group’s website notes that more than 150,000 cards have been delivered to older residents in all 50 states.

HOFSTRA CHAPTER

The intergenerational effort’s message has continued to spread, as those who were in GlamourGals chapters in high school take the idea with them to college and new members discover it as young adults.

Erin Smyth, 20, of Farmingdale, is president of the GlamourGals and Pals chapter at Hofstra University in Hempstead, where she is a senior. The secondary education major said she found the group when she was checking out activities during her freshman year.

The Hofstra chapter has about 100 members. She said about a dozen regularly visit the Hempstead Housing Authority’s senior center, where they distribute cards, play board and card games and offer manicures.

Smyth said she was drawn to the organization because she spent a lot of time with her grandmother, Nora Leotta, who lived with Smyth’s family until she died this past summer at 88. “Part of the reason I do this is I used to paint my grandma’s nails all the time,” she said. “It’s a way to keep her close. It’s like I have 20 grandmas.”

Rosalie Marfoglio, 20, a junior studying art education and secretary of the Hofstra chapter’s executive board, said the members always feel welcome at the senior center. “They love it when we arrive and they love to play cards with us,” she said.

Some students can’t attend the visits due to work and class schedules but come regularly to meetings, where they write cards.

Bridget Urban, 20, a senior marketing major from Plainview, is one. “We can make them feel cared for,” she said. “When you go to college you focus on academics, so being able to be involved in something like this adds perspective and opens your mind.”

CATCHING UP

When the Smithtown East students arrived at Amber Court dressed in their T-shirts, either bright pink or light blue, the frequent volunteers immediately started distributing craft supplies while smiling and hugging residents as they chatted.

Lakshya Nagisetti, 16, said she has been participating in the program for two years. “They have so many stories to tell,” she said of the residents. “It really shocks you, all they’ve done.” She said she enjoys seeing many of the same faces every month. “It’s kind of like a bond. They like to ask us questions and learn what we’ve been doing.”

Rose Nastasi, 98, was getting her nails painted a royal blue with an overlay of glitter by junior Nicole LoCastro, 16. As Nastasi waved her hands to dry the polish, she admired the girl’s handiwork. “I might get another boyfriend,” she said, laughing.

Hima Maruri, 16, who also has been visiting the residents for two years, said she enjoys interacting with the women. “One lady said she didn’t like her hands, so I rubbed them with lotion and gave her a manicure,” she recalled. “She felt so good about me painting her nails.”

For Victoria Friberg, 16, a junior making her first visit, the conversations benefited her as well. “I’m interested in going into the medical field. I’m shy and I thought it would be good for me to interact more with people.”

Amber Court activities director Metzline “Mezzy” Desravines said she appreciates the teens’ visits. “What these girls do is beyond just doing nails,” Desravines said. “They connect and talk to my residents about their life and for that time, they get to relive some of the best moments of their lives. And for that, I am grateful.”

LEADERSHIP TRAINING

A key part of GlamourGals is offering leadership training to its members. On Nov. 23, the organization will host its annual Leadership Training Institute in Manhattan. Members from across the country will attend, either in-person or via Zoom, for a full day of training to help them build their communication and networking skills, and learn how they can maximize the GlamourGals experience.

One of the interactive workshops offered will be on makeup application, Doyle said. Attendees will also be given pointers on how to direct the conversation and engage participants, while stressing the importance of allowing residents to choose a nail polish color and to change their mind.

“It’s symbolic, the choice about color and being able to change it,” Doyle said. “The rest of their day is planned out, but they can change this. There’s a power in choice.”

Doyle said GlamourGals encourages members to reflect on their volunteer efforts through private journaling. These entries can help members sort through their feelings, and also offers GlamourGals staff a chance to address any issues that may arise when teens meet with the older adults, Doyle said.

Journaling also helps volunteers understand the significance of their actions, she said. “The true impact in any society happens not just when you go out and do it, but when you then reflect on it,” she said. “Honing that skill of reflection is a powerful tool.”

'SO MUCH FUN’

Doyle noted that GlamourGals can help students develop their organizational, time management and leadership skills since they’re responsible for contacting the facilities to arrange visits and ensuring they have sufficient supplies. Each chapter pays GlamourGals a $150 registration fee per year, and the organization provides T-shirts and the craft materials. The chapters can also request additional supplies, and college chapters sometimes get funds from their schools.

Junior Srikarthi Jaggavarapu, 16, started the Smithtown East chapter when she was in ninth grade. She said she first learned of the group through her brother, who knew a member of the Commack High chapter.

“I started asking friends if they wanted to join, and we have 15 members now,” Jaggavarapu said. The group has made about 24 visits to Amber Court and a second facility, Arbors Assisted Living at Islandia West, over the past two years.

Her father, Kumar Jaggavarapu, is the group’s adviser. He came along on the visits when they first started, but now lets them fly solo.

“It enables them to understand the support we do for seniors, and to get life experience with seniors,” he said of the group’s work.

For Srikarthi Jaggavarapu, the experience has been overwhelmingly positive: “It’s always so much fun,” she said. “They remember us, and I learned how to play a card game, Kings in a Corner. I love making connections with people there. . . . Sometimes I get so stressed at school I just go as a personal thing. It’s a kind act and they love it so much.”