Creative Aging Programming Helps Seniors Connect Through Creativity
By Brittany York
Charitable Words Project Manager
Charitable Words Scholars has been hard at work fundraising this past year, and as a result, Creative Aging — a nonprofit that provides programming that allows seniors to reminisce, feel connected, and get creative — will further its reach with new promotional web content.
A team of 25 volunteers came together to staff a beer booth at both Bunbury and Bellwether Music Festivals this past summer, enabling Charitable Words to fund a new scholar, skilled in videography.
Court Fortier
Court Fortier, a Cincinnati transplant and graduate of Governors State University in Illinois, received his B.A. in Media Communications and says he is excited to put his time toward a cause he is passionate about.
“Having the privilege of being born into an older family deeply connected to music and art, I was automatically attracted to spreading the message about Creative Aging,” Court says. “I feel music and art have uniquely magical qualities that inform our relationships with ourselves, others, and culture as a whole.”
Court will be working alongside project manager, Brittany York, to gather photography, conduct interviews, create content, and produce a video that enhances Creative Aging’s website.
The nonprofit’s executive director Bev Ross says she’s appreciative to have been selected as a nonprofit partner by Charitable Words.
Bev Ross
“Up-to-date materials will allow us to not only transform the look of our website, but will also allow us to give our audience a better idea of the depth of programming that we provide and exactly how we serve the seniors in our community.”
The team has conducted four interviews thus far and has witnessed Creative Aging’s impact through each of them.
According to Brittany, the nonprofit is reaching seniors in particularly meaningful ways.
“We had the chance to sit down and chat with Helen Davidson. She’s 89 and actually has broken fingers as a result of playing the piano since childhood; yet she makes it a point to play for residents at Carriage Court (the senior living facility in which she resides) every single day,” Brittany says. “It’s amazing — she gives so much through music — and she’s so grateful to receive that same gift of music from the performers connected to Creative Aging.”
It’s stories like Davidson’s that Charitable Words hopes to showcase as scholars reveal the magnitude and depth of nonprofits like Creative Aging.
Isolation for seniors can be so detrimental, but Creative Aging is doing its part to mitigate that loneliness.
“I want to showcase their dedication to keeping seniors living full, purposeful lives,” Court said.
About Creative Aging
Founded over 30 years ago as The Arts and Humanities Resource Center for Older Adults, Creative Aging Cincinnati, a 501(c)3, has been serving Seniors in the Greater Cincinnati area. Creative Aging’s mission is to provide arts and humanities programs that have a positive impact on the quality of life of older adults in the Greater Cincinnati Area. Creative Aging provides arts and humanities programs and performances that stimulate participants minds, creativity and sense of self. Programs are designed to educate, engage, enrich and entertain.
Creative Aging accomplishes its mission by bringing local area professional artists, performers and educators to present one hour long programs at senior centers, retirement communities, adult day care centers, and nursing homes in Cincinnati and surrounding areas. In 2014, Creative Aging sponsored 395 programs at member facilities serving 15,232 older adults in the Greater Cincinnati area. Over the years, Creative Aging Cincinnati has provided well over 6,800 programs and touched the lives of over 294,000 seniors.
About Charitable Words
Charitable Words is a unique nonprofit social enterprise that provides pro bono communications support for nonprofits and matches students interested in purposeful internships and assignments with causes they care about. Since 2012, Charitable Words has connected more than 30 nonprofits with 70 students and recent graduates and hundreds of hours of pro bono engagement by our network of volunteer advisors.
Please click here to support The Charitable Words Scholars Fund. And please use the social media links below to help share this story about students “learning and lending a hand.”
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This entry was posted on Monday, March 18th, 2019 at 4:42 pm
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