A Bridging Thru Music volunteer along with BTM music coordinator Rob Thomure led a sing-a-long on June 10, 2019 at Bello Gardens in San Anselmo. With Rob accompanying on ukulele, well-loved standards such as “What a Wonderful World”, “Fly Me to the Moon”, “Meet Me in St, Louis”, “Summertime”, “When Irish Eyes are Smiling” and many more were sung with a full house of residents. Shelley Katz, Bello Garden’s Activity Director commented: “The residents loved the ukulele sing along on Monday. LOVED! When I reminded those residents who do not recall things from one day to the next, I got back positive responses. It does so much to raise their spirits when they get to sing songs they remember”. Thanks to our volunteer, and thanks to Shelley for facilitating and being so supportive!
LITA has now completed two of the six workshops in our Pilot Memory Care Buddies program. The volunteers have been working hard and having a great time! The pilot was developed in response to the growing population of older adults with memory losses to ensure there are community members who can be Buddies for people with dementia.
Thanks to support from a group of employees at Autodesk and Unity in Marin Church, the volunteers are using iPads with music and photo apps on them as well as other interactive programs designed specifically to engage people with memory loss. Future workshops include presentations on the connection between hearing loss and dementia and communication strategies.
In the great outdoors
Students from Saint Raphael’s had lunch and played games in the park with their Buddies from WindChime, thanks to a grant from Marin County Parks Department. Being outdoors is rejuvenating for everyone and sharing a meal is a great way to connect.
They clapped, laughed, sang along, and barked like a dog (ok, so it was a song about an actual dog) as David Maloney brought his songs, stories, guitar, ukulele, and banjo to entertain the residents of Creekwood Senior Home in Novato on Friday, April 19. David, well-known as a performer on the folk festival circuit as well as one half of the duo Reilly and Maloney, sang originals such as his “Finnegan’s Farm”, and “Ridin’ on the Old Rainbow”, as well as old standards such as “Oh Susanna”, “This Land is Your Land”, and “You Are My Sunshine”. Thank you, David, for a wonderful and heartfelt musical interlude!
Led by music teacher Rachel Kim, and back by popular demand, the choir from Branson School in Ross once again demonstrated their fine harmonies for Windchime of Marin on April 16, 2019. “Beautiful!”, “That was great”, and “awesome” were some of the comments. Be sure to listen to an excerpt of their rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody” below. Many thanks to Rachel and all the students in the choir for bringing smiles to the Windchime Memory Care residents!
LITA’s volunteers would not still be spreading warmth and friendship in Marin if not for our long time community supporters like the Bank of Marin. LITA is grateful for receiving a Community Support grant from the Bank. Thank you!
This beautiful woman was honored at our Volunteer Celebration last January. Virginia received a certificate in recognition of 15 years as a dedicated LITA volunteer, received a shout-out as part of a “Dynamic Duo” volunteer team with her husband, Don, who also volunteer visits a resident friend.
Virginia also received the Pete Croughan Award for having exemplified the unconditional love and compassion that guided esteemed LITA volunteer Pete Croughan’s life since 1993.
We love you Virginia and thank you for your commitment and caring to helping LITA take the lonely out of Aging!
The Mill Valley Middle School’s Orchestra and Bluegrass bands entertained more than 30 Aegis residents the other day. They played lovely orchestral pieces and got the audiences’ toes tapping with fun bluegrass!
Directed by DARIA, 20 members of the Marin Harmony acapella chorus performed 15 songs such as “Under the Boardwalk”, “My Girl”, “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’”, “Day Tripper”, “I Can See Clearly Now”, “Stand by Me” and 9 more for residents of Aegis in Corte Madera, Ca. on March 18. They had the enthusiastic audience smiling, clapping and singing along, with residents commenting afterwards on how wonderful they were and that they were going ask Aegis management to bring them back! One lady said they were "an absolute gift of talent that leads to love and peace". Thank you, Marin Harmony!
Thanks to a grant from Marin County Parks, the Bridging Generations program is going out into nature this Spring. Here are some photos from the first trip at McNear’s Beach (special thanks to photographer John Nelson who volunteered his time and artistry).
3rd grade students and their Senior Buddies heard from Ranger Nova about the animals and fauna in the area, then they planted some of their own fauna in self-decorated pots and finished up with a picnic together. It was a great day!
Two other groups will be going out in April.
Much lively chatter and laughter was heard in the Bello Gardens dining room when San Domenico’s Service Club returned last week for its monthly visit. First school routines and facility activities were discussed and compared….then the games began!
Bridging Thru Music volunteers and first-year high school students Natalia Betzler and Zach Lee did a combined set at Drake Terrace in San Rafael on Sunday, February 17, 2019. Natalia sang “Feeling Good” by Nina Simone, “New York State of Mind” by Bill Joel. “What a Wonderful World” and more; Zach sang “Blackbird”, “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley. “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen and several others. Plus they did a couple of duets! Both will be involved in this summer’s Mountain Play: Natalia will open with her band, and Zach will be an ensemble performer. Many thanks to Natalia and Zach!
A great time was had by all on Saturday Jan 26th. Volunteers, staff and other community members enjoyed hearing stories of friendships and connections. AlmaVia was a wonderful host, providing a beautiful space and delicious sweet treats. Other facilities who have LITA volunteers also showed their appreciation for the volunteers’ time and energy with generous gift baskets that were raffled off.
The LITA Letter now available. Stories include:
2018 by the Numbers
Launch of Memory Care Buddies Program
Bridging Generations Study
Thank you to A la Heart Sponsors and Save the date
Bridging Generations sessions are always fun, even more so when puppies are added! The students from San Domenico were wonderful buddies for Bello Gardens Assisted Living residents, making sure they could all enjoy the puppies Jessica's Haven and Rescue brought and even decorating the tree in the activity room.
