GENEVA, Ill. – As many music festivals have been canceled in the area and throughout the country, a Geneva senior living facility put on one of its own.

The first ever “balcony bash” serenaded the hip-swaying seniors at Greenfield’s Retirement Home.

Under strict regulation for weeks, it was the first time residents had been able to connect with their friends down the hall.

In other good news around the area, mother Melissa Kerpel and daughter Julia found a unique way to raise money for their local food pantry.

They turned their unfinished basement into a makeshift zumba dance studio.

“We decided on the basement because that is where we wouldn’t wake up my brother and just got so much positive feedback and thank you messages that we just kept going and here we are,” Melissa said.

Five days a week, the mother and daughter post free zumba classes online. Participants are asked to make a donation if they can. In just a few weeks, they have pooled together $1,500 from people following their classes around the country.

All of it goes to the Moraine Township food pantry and Feeding America.

The last “feel good Friday” story of the week features District 151.

For students in South Holland, Harvey and Phoenix, as families drove up to the school, they were given a big gift bag.

Each one is stocked full of puzzles, books, journals and card games to keep kids busy during the stay-at-home order.

It started out as a small idea from one of the district’s social workers and quickly grew throughout the community.

“We put it out there and people totally stepped up. it was really an outpouring from our community and overwhelming,” Maggie Krol-Rude.

Teachers, staff, neighbors and the Covenant United Church of Christ all pitched in to fill hundreds of bags.