2012

photo credit LIVENorthern New Jersey’s LIVE (Lifelong Involvement for Vital Elders), an initiative of the Jewish Federation of Greater Metrowest New Jersey (UJC), works with local leaders to make the communities it serves better places in which to grow older. LIVE organizes recreational activities and personal-development programs that help older adults stay active and involved in their communities, thereby helping them to age in place and continue to contribute to their communities well into their older years. The activities offered by LIVE include yoga, Tai Chi, walking clubs, health workshops, and employment counseling. While LIVE is led by United Jewish Communities, it encourages participation from seniors of all ages and backgrounds.

photo credit Deeply Rooted Productions

Founded in 1995 by dancers Kevin Iega Jeff and Gary Abbott, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater teaches and performs dance as creative expression and community and spiritual healing. Jeff calls it “world class art from a grassroots perspective.”

Working within an African American dance aesthetic, Deeply Rooted explores topics as varied as the Somali civil war and famine, the quest to live in the face of AIDS, and early-twentieth-century African American cultures. Jeff and Abbott’s choreography stresses both technical virtuosity and the deep exploration of character and community. As one dancer explains regarding Deeply Rooted’s Life, which deals with personal struggles to live with AIDS, “I know I’m telling experiences of things I see every day. Right outside these doors, there’s some things about this piece that are going on.”

Recess for seniors may sound unusual, but it is just one of many volunteer roles that the Rochester School District’s Office of Extended School Programs has developed to increase community involvement in its elementary schools. The Rochester School Department defines as its goal the enhanced achievement and academic success of students who participate in extended-school programs. Volunteers play a key role in support of these programs. The Office organizes enrichment programs by sharing resources, creating partnerships with businesses and community organizations, and involving parents. 

These programs have proven to be a boon to both students and volunteers, many of whom are older adults. Intergenerational activities benefit senior volunteers, who take pleasure in giving back to their communities and participating in a structured social environment. They often exult in the joy of working with children.

photo credit Dances for A Variable Population

Dancers dressed in vibrant red move across The High Line, an elevated historic rail line turned public park in Manhattan’s West Side, enticing passersby to stop and look at the beautiful performance. Half of the dancers seem to be young, fit, and professionally trained. The other half move more slowly, some dancing in place, and some sitting. In fact, they are all older adults.

Dance artist Naomi Goldberg Haas founded and directs Dances For A Variable Population (DVP), a dance company whose goal is to erase the borders between dancers and audience through its unique choreography and dance company, comprising adults 24 to 82 years of age.  Haas enjoys site-specific dance performances, which place the audience and dancers of all ages in the same space. She says, “[In these] new conceptions of shared space, we celebrate how dance can be a vehicle for wellness and expression for seniors, persons with disabilities, youth, and regular folk; how dance can change from an ‘under-exposed’ art form in a community to become an active tool for community participation, enthusiasm, and social interaction.”

photo credit Cheyenne Botanic Gardens

“The process of working in the Garden has a therapeutic effect: as the plants grow, so does the self-esteem of the older adult volunteers.”—Director, Cheyenne Botanic Gardens

The Cheyenne Botanic Gardens are unique not only for their use of solar and wind energy to enhance sustainability, but also because of their workforce, in which many volunteers are older adults, individuals with disabilities, and at-risk youth. According to Gardens staff, 90 percent of the physical labor is done by volunteers. The Gardens are an invaluable resource to the Cheyenne community, offering all the attractions of a beautiful environment, as well as occasions for structured, meaningful, and healthful activity for members of the community.