EngAGE changes lives by transforming affordable senior and multigenerational apartment communities into vibrant centers of learning, wellness, and creativity.
Thanks to EngAGE Program Director Michelle for #MakingADifference and sharing a favorite story which she recalled from her earlier days working for EngAGE some seven years ago. EngAGE strives to create community for all of the residents we serve.
A resident badly missed his hometown in Italy and lamented that he could no longer fly back. So, EngAGE’s computer teacher taught him to use Google Earth to locate and zoom into his home village. After that, he regularly used the computer to look at satellite pictures of his hometown to feel connected again with his birth country. And in English Conversation class, we encouraged him to share his memories of his time in Italy. He said he felt comforted and supported.
Thanks to EngAGE Northwest Executive Director Laura Spidell for #MakingADifference. Here’s a lovely story she shared which occurred while working in her dual role as a Program Director.
One of the joys of the role of Program Director is the opportunity for small moments with residents that demonstrate that being present matters. A second grader who lives across the hall from my office occasionally pops by to say hello. One day his school got out early, and he was bored waiting for his cousins to come home from school. He asked if he could hang out in the community room, so I got him some markers and a coloring book and sat with him while I did my work. We talked about his favorite colors and how school is going, then he said, “I like to hang out here because you are kind.”
EngAGE is pleased to announce it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a Grants for Arts Projects award of $35,000. This grant will support EngAGE in Creativity, our multidisciplinary arts engagement programming. The NEA will award 1,135 Grants for Arts Projects awards totaling more than $37 million as part of its second round of fiscal year 2024 grants.
“Projects like EngAGE in Creativity exemplify the creativity and care with which communities are telling their stories, creating connection, and responding to challenges and opportunities in their communities—all through the arts,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “So many aspects of our communities such as cultural vitality, health and wellbeing, infrastructure, and the economy are advanced and improved through investments in art and design, and the National Endowment for the Arts is committed to ensuring people across the country benefit.”
EngAGE believes that people of all ages, regardless of previous exposure to the arts, can develop an appreciation for art and become practicing artists. Our EngAGE in Creativity programming eliminates barriers by providing accessible, multidisciplinary arts programs ranging from music and dance to writing, acting, and painting, on site at no charge. We dispel pervasive misconceptions such as, “I am not an artist” or “I’m not creative,” by encouraging participation and providing support. To showcase and celebrate participants’ achievements, classes have culminating events such as art exhibits and performances which are open to friends, family, and neighbors.
Our creativity programs are based on research by Dr. Gene Cohen and others who have shown that structured arts education fosters mastery and promotes social engagement – key deterrents to feelings of isolation and loneliness at any age.
We are grateful to the NEA for their support of this important work.
For more information on other projects included in the NEA’s grant announcement, visitarts.gov/news.
Thanks to EngAGE COO Nancy Goodhart for #MakingADifference and sharing this personal story. Nancy has been with EngAGE since its early days, starting as a Program Director, then joining the executive ranks ten years ago. She is passionate about promoting health for older adults through movement and creative expression, and she continues to teach Falls Prevention classes at our communities. This story, previously shared in 2021, tells of her discovery of her own creative expression through art.
Rooted in Art
Art and I met quite unexpectedly, under dire circumstances. Here’s how it all went down.
Life happened one day. After 33 years of marriage, we abruptly split up. It all went south so fast. Everything I thought I had was gone. My future plans and lifelong investments became null and void, overnight. I entered a new world, unprepared, dazed and confused.
Without the distraction of possessions to gather or assets to chase, my new reality, as a single woman in her late fifties, seemed uncomplicated, at a glance. But instantly I knew what I was challenged with: I needed to find my center, my purpose, my Self. I needed a new game plan, a new life plan, and a new perspective. I moved through, with a head full of windy thoughts, one day at a time.
Fortunately, I was employed with a very cool and creative nonprofit organization as a fitness instructor and Program Director for older adults. I had a secure job, and it was feel-good work. Days were full of energy, creativity, and positivity. Then, every workday would come to an end, and I would find myself in that hollow emotional space, that empty place. Unfilled spaces can go awry so easily.
It was an average day on the job when I was first introduced to Art. I was well aware that flirting with Art was way outside my comfort zone and my skill set, yet I felt gutsy and intrigued. It was good timing. Defaulting to my pragmatic, familiar self, I reviewed my situation to inform my next move. My money was tight, and there was no room in my budget for outings or costly pastimes. What I did have was a plentiful amount of free time and emotional space to invite in a new energy. Forget my lack of experience, I told myself, a healthy distraction is a good thing, So, if not now, when? It was calculated. I was going to do the Art thing and see where it went.
I took the initiative and made the first move with the tools that I knew I had, and with the mental images that I had been entertaining.
Pencil and Paper. Trees and Leaves.
I was drawing, one pencil stroke at a time. Trees felt safe – their shapes and designs were imperfect and unpredictable – Wabi Sabi-like. Each pencil mark, each crooked branch and tenacious root, grew energy and hope inside me. Forming leaves of life, in all their stages of sprouting, maturing, and falling, grounded me. Brushing away the dust from erased mistakes felt heart-healing.
I was feeling content, and curious about myself, if just for minutes at a time. And those minutes were golden. Art was way more than just a distraction or a time filler; we found meaningful connection in a simple and unassuming way. Art became my unpaved path to healing. We were traveling together, footloose and fancy free. And it wasn’t about where we were going, where the bumpy path would lead us; it was about our journey, our detours, our do-overs, and all the discoveries along the way.
Through the years, in a quiet and unannounced way, we grew deeply rooted and entwined, spending more and more time together. We were EngAGED and energized with all the creative possibilities our union presented.
As I write this, seven years later, Art and I have tied our creative knot. I am wholeheartedly committed to, and grateful for, this soul soothing, imperfect and forgiving, endlessly supportive presence in my life.
Thanks to EngAGE Program Director Megan for #MakingADifference and sharing this story.
One of our residents shared how impactful EngAGE COO Nancy Goodhart’s “Falls Prevention” class was for her. She had a cardiac episode and thought she was having a heart attack. She collapsed and passed out on her bathroom floor, and when she came to, she said that Nancy’s words helped her get help. She remembered to stay calm and collect her thoughts. She noticed a towel on the side of her tub. She realized that she could swing the towel and get the emergency string close enough so she could pull it. She was so thankful that EngAGE had Nancy come and teach that class. And, yes, she’s doing well now.
COO and Certified Falls Prevention Instructor Nancy Goodhart teaches her “Falls Prevention” class at The Huntington, one of the communities we serve in Northern California.
Thanks to EngAGE Program Director Henry for #MakingADifference and sharing this story.
Miss Ivory Is a longtime resident at one of our EngAGE communities. Recently, upon learning about the EngAGE 25th anniversary milestone, she expressed to me her adoration for all the EngAGE painting classes she has taken over the years (instructed by Meloney and now by me). She said that painting helps her relax, gives her joy, and is her favorite creative outlet. She’s kept all her paintings and decorates her apartment with them. Miss Ivory also shared that many of her family members have requested her artworks as heirlooms to remember her always.
EngAGE welcomes CandyJoe Dahlstrom, Program Director at Cantabria and Asturias, La Coruña, and Andalucia in the greater Los Angeles area.
CandyJoe is a multidisciplinary artist with professional experience in the fields of theater, dance, make-up, costume design, graphic design and film editing. She has a passion for building community though the arts, exploring the natural world and learning new skills. CandyJoe enjoys volunteering at her local library and watching baseball with her husband and children.
