News from Good Samaritan Society-Waconia and Westview Acres: Art Show Culminating Event

On September 20th, the drawing class at Good Samaritan Society-Waconia and Westview Acres in Waconia, MN, celebrated with a wonderful culminating event. EngAGE CEO/Founder Tim Carpenter took photos and reports: “Such an inspiring night this week in MN. Class was taught by students at Minneapolis College of Art and Design, 80 people attended the art show opening.”

Residents watch a presentation by the teaching artists about how far the students went, learning drawing from the start to the finish of the class.

 

 

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News from Park Plaza: Timeslips Storytelling and Resident Spotlight

This month, Tanya Kutukdjian, EngAGE Programs Assistant at Park Plaza Senior Apartments in North Hollywood, CA, shines the Resident Spotlight on Heather.

Heather (left) and another resident with Timeslips Storytelling Instructor Sarah Jacobus.

I did not have the pleasure of meeting Heather earlier on, because she doesn’t participate in social events. She says she participates in Yoga, because it is quiet and does not require socializing. Heather is very sweet, with a warm smile on her face every time I see her, but she says she is embarrassed to mingle with others because of her accent.

The first time I finally met Heather was a month ago when she was getting her mail, and our Storytelling Group flyer caught her eye. We proceeded to chat about the group and I encouraged Heather to come by and check it out. She said she would do her best.

When I didn’t see her at the next class, I thought I had lost her interest, but she proved me wrong when she showed up to our second Storytelling Group of the month. She was hesitant to participate, but hung out nearby. As she watched other residents tell their stories, she realized her accent was not such an obstacle after all.  She came and sat with Sarah and me while another resident told her story.

At first, Heather said she would briefly discuss the story prompt, as she was still not feeling comfortable with her language skills. But, once she started telling her story, she felt more comfortable and she ended up surprising herself with how well she could tell the story and maintain our interest.

She was so happy by the end of her story, she couldn’t stop smiling and saying how she came to the group prepared to be a passive participant, and she was so shocked she opened up and shared so much! We were all grateful for Heather’s courage to speak up and enjoyed her story very much. With the confidence and comfort she established, we hope she becomes a regular at our social events and groups.

~ Tanya Kutukdjian, EngAGE Programs Assistant
~ Elizabeth Sampson, Regional Programs Director

 

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EngAGE CEO/Founder Tim Carpenter and Stanton Fellows at JACCC

EngAGE CEO/Founder Tim Carpenter checked in on Friday with great photos and this comment about the Stanton Fellowship cohort meeting he attended at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center in downtown Los Angeles: “Beautiful day, beautiful people, my friend Leslie Ito [President and CEO of the JACCC] is simply a force of nature for good, inspired.”

JACCC: Japanese Cultural and Community Center

George J. Doizaki Gallery at JACCC. Leslie A. Ito is the President & CEO of the JACCC.

James Irvine Japanese Garden, also known as Seiryu-en or “Garden of the Clear Stream,” at JACCC.

From Claire Peeps, Executive Director of the Durfee Foundation which awards the Stanton Fellowships: “Yesterday I was privileged to witness something very special. The woman in the middle is the daughter of a former US Ambassador to Japan, the first to be posted in Hiroshima immediately after WWII. The woman was sent to school there as a young girl, and was the only non-Japanese student. When the family left in 1955, her parents were given a gift of a special tea bowl, wrapped in fabric and placed inside an engraved wooden box, tied with leather ribbon. The box was opened yesterday for the first time, and the Ambassador’s daughter was served tea in a tea ceremony, using that bowl, at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center – JACCC, where The Durfee Foundation Stanton Fellow Leslie Ito has created a program to revitalize the tea ceremony for younger generations and those from different cultural backgrounds. The Ambassador’s daughter used the occasion yesterday to donate her bowl to JACCC in honor of Leslie’s work, and the ceremony was presided over by a Tea Master from Japan, pictured on the right. It was incredibly moving. Later in the day we were treated to a sake toast using beautiful ceramic cups owned by the Ito family.”

Located in the JACCC building, U-Space is a collaborative effort between Brad Ranola and Cary Hitsman of Anacapa ʻUkulele, Blues-ʻUkulele artist and educator, Jason Arimoto, Six-time grammy award-winner, Daniel Ho, and the Japanese American Cultural Community Center (JACCC). U-Space is a coffee shop, a music school (with a heavy emphasis on ʻUkulele), and a retail ʻUkulele store all in one location. U-Space is focused on building community through music and ʻUkulele.

Backstage at the Aratani Theater at JACCC.

Nearby, LA Artcore is dedicated to recognizing diverse artistic accomplishments and bringing innovative exhibits and events to the public. LA Artcore welcomes artists of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds to enhance interactions between different constituencies.

 

 

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News from Cantabria/Asturias: English as a Second Language

This month, we are featuring the ESL (English as a Second Language) Class taught by Lisa Cirincinione at Cantabria Senior Apartments and Asturias Senior Apartments in Panorama City, CA.

A recent class focused on how to have conversations about making purchases at the grocery store or any other shop — asking about the prices/the cost of something, and how to respond. They also talked about countable and uncountable nouns. For example, apples are countable, but milk is not, and how this affects the verb that you use.

They learned vocabulary such as loaf, container, box, package, carton, as well as the difference between how much and how many. They wrote recipes, and role-played conversations with cashiers and store clerks. In terms of pronunciation, they focused on the final /t/ and /n/ sounds. Many non-native speakers tend to cut off the ends of their words.

One moment that was particularly triumphant involved seeing a student from Nicaragua, who came to class last year with literally no English skills, helping another student from Uzbekistan with her verb tenses. The more veteran student was able to walk her through it and they both felt extremely proud of themselves.

~ Elizabeth Sampson, Regional Program Director

 

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Experience Talks 9/24: Lalo Alcaraz and Dee Dee Myers

Tune in to Experience Talks, our weekly “Radio Magazine for the Experienced Listener,” on Sundays at 5:00 PM PT on KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles, 98.7 FM Santa Barbara, 99.5 China Lake, 93.7 N. San Diego, streaming live online, and now syndicated on up to 100 Pacifica Network stations! Experience Talks is produced by the non-profit EngAGE, Inc.

 

Miss the show? You can always hear it as a podcast on the Listen Page of our website! You’ll also find an archive-in-progress of all of our previous shows there for you to enjoy. New shows are usually posted within 48 hours after broadcast.

 

 


SUNDAY 9/24 @ 5 PM PDT
LALO ALCARAZ
DEE DEE MYERS
Host TIM CARPENTER


LALO ALCARAZ is the cartoonist behind La Cucaracha, the first nationally syndicated, politically themed, Latino daily comic strip, and one of the most controversial in our history. His work has appeared in the NY Times, the Village Voice, the Los Angeles Times, Variety, Hispanic Magazine, Latina Magazine, and many other national and international publications. A leading figure in the Chicano movement, Alcaraz also hosts the Pocho Hour of Power on KPFK-FM radio. More here.


A Special “In My Experience” Segment

DEE DEE MYERS became Executive Vice President, Worldwide Corporate Communications and Public Affairs for Warner Bros. in September 2014. In this role, she oversees all of the company’s corporate communications strategies and activities on a global basis, including media relations, public positioning, executive communications, corporate responsibility and philanthropy.

Myers served as White House Press Secretary during President Bill Clinton’s first term and was the first woman to hold the position. After leaving the White House, she worked as a political analyst, commentator, and writer as well as a contributing editor to Vanity Fair. She is the author of the New York Times best-selling book Why Women Should Rule the World. She also co-hosted the CNBC political talk show, Equal Time, and served as a consultant on Warner Bros. Television’s Emmy Award-winning drama series, The West Wing.

Before joining the Clinton presidential campaign in 1991, Myers worked on a number of local, state and national campaigns. She is a graduate of Santa Clara University in California. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Todd S. Purdum, a senior writer for Politico and a contributing editor to Vanity Fair, and their children.


From our Experience Talks Audio Archives.

 

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News from Metro Hollywood: Creative Expressions

From painting, to jewelry making, to coloring, residents at Metro Hollywood in Hollywood, CA, get many opportunities to express their creativity.

~ Sandra Vargas, Regional Program Director

 

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News from Andalucía and La Coruña: Flashback to the Fourth

Fourth of July BBQ and Line Dancing

We had a ho-down! Road Theatre Company member and professional choreographer Jessica Wierzba came in to teach the residents some Line Dancing.

Elizabeth bought cowboy hats for everyone and they were greeted with a hat at the door, which, once donned, put them officially in the mood for some flattened, scorched cattle meat and a couple of knee-slapping, “Yee-Haaas!”

Jessica and Programs Assistant Brian Cole, tearing up the floor.

While we were dancing in the cool, air-conditioned community room, Andalucía Manager Louis Perla was outside in the 97 degree heat, cooking up hamburgers and hot dogs for the crowd.

A sea of white hats – I guess they are all “Good Guys.”

Having fun.

The day ended with a cake and singing “Happy Birthday” to the Manager of La Coruna, Kea Kane.

~ Elizabeth Sampson, Regional Program Director

 

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