This program is generously funded by Next50 Initiative, A.V. Hunter Trust and West Elk Community Fund.
This collaborative program brings together four local organizations for a shared vision of increasing the quality of life for our senior community through creative and social activities at the Paonia Senior Center. The pilot program will span six months beginning September 2021, creating four brand new activities per month geared towards senior engagement. The project collaborators are:
The Friends of the Paradise which builds community through educational events, movies, live music, and theater.
Elsewhere Studios, an artist residency program that brings together local and global creative communities.
The Paonia Senior Center, a meeting space for the elderly population providing meals and social opportunities.
The North Fork Senior Connections offers services to seniors such as transportation, companionship and household assistance.
These four organizations are combining their strengths and missions to better support the aging population in our rural community. We believe creating more opportunities for seniors to congregate and watch a movie, create an art project, learn new skills, play a game and share delicious meals will strengthen the health and quality of life for senior individuals and our community as a whole.
Project Goals
*Further develop the underutilized Senior Center venue by collaborating with other organizations to provide enhanced programming and increase the number of seniors benefitting from the Senior Center.
*Improve the lives of individual seniors in the North Fork community by offering exercise, art and theatre programs; healthy, locally-catered meals and opportunities for interactions with other multi-generational members of the community.
*Benefit the overall community by creating a vibrant community space as well as new economic opportunities, offering jobs for seniors as teachers and coordinators. The program will also provide business for local caterers.
Elsewhere’s Art Class:
Each week will feature a different activity and a catered lunch FREE to adults over 60. Starting in September, every third Thursday of the month will be art day and kicking the program off is Montrose-local artist Mary Gnandt.
Bio: During my career in the field of Mental Health, I always pursued outlets for my creative urges. Time and time again, I return to the medium of collage where I bring unrelated images into a whole new meaning. More recently I have been exploring images that convey a sense of movement through time.
Class project: In this class we will use photographs of your life and past generations to create a personal narrative about how those who came before us shaped our lives. The process of collage will requires skills of making Xerox copies, cutting and glueing and assembling a journal. Some supplies needed include: scissors, acid fee glue stick, mattboard, decorative papers.
Class is free for 60+ adults, all skill levels welcome, materials and lunch provided.