Creative Aging in Westchester County
Lifetime Arts is pleased to announce the launch of Creative Aging in Westchester County a capacity building and seed grant program to improve the lives of older adults through arts education.
Creative Aging connects older adults with professional teaching artists through active learning programs in all arts disciplines. Across the U.S., older adult advocates, researchers and artists are promoting the benefits of arts education for older adults. Sequential, skill-building arts workshops – embedded in socially engaging community settings – help combat isolation and reinvigorate learning. Senior service organizations who add Creative Aging to their menu of services improve their programming, expand their reach and attract new partnerships and clients.
Program Description
Creative Aging in Westchester County, a county-wide initiative is generously supported by the Westchester Community Foundation and is designed to build the capacity of Westchester senior service organizations to develop and sustain new arts learning programs that address the needs and interests of today’s older adults (55+). This multi-phased initiative includes:
- FREE informational webinar
- FREE live training
- GRANTS for program implementation
Organizations that complete the training will be eligible to apply for a $2,500 grant to seed a new Creative Aging program. Five organizations will receive grants and the technical assistance necessary to design and implement an instructional arts program geared to older adults. Each project must include at least 8 sessions, plus a culminating event – and serve at least 10 older adults. Projects can begin as early as April of 2018 and continue through mid November 2018.
The initiative has the following goals:
- To build the capacity of senior service organizations to develop, deliver, and sustain Creative Aging programs;
- To improve the quality of life and combat social isolation of older Westchester County residents by increasing the number and quality of arts education programs in senior service organizations;
- To demonstrate the efficacy of Creative Aging programming in a wide range of senior service organizations.
Eligible Organizations
- Must be a non-profit 501(c)(3) or a senior center associated with a municipality, town, village or other community organization;
- Must serve Westchester County older adults (55+), either exclusively or as part of general programming;
- Must have at least one full time staff member;
- Must provide programming beyond meals and healthcare;
- Authorized staff must attend both days of one set of training workshops.
(Please see important dates/locations below).
The following are not eligible for participation in the program:
- Arts and cultural organizations, public libraries;
- Individual artists;
- For profit organizations.
Important Dates
Phase 1
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Phase 2: You will have all of November and December to work on your proposals.
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Phase 3: Grantees Only.
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Please note: Informational Webinar and Training Registration are not the same, you must sign up for each one separately below.
Informational Webinar Registration
This webinar will provide an overview of Lifetime Arts, the field of Creative Aging, this initiative, and the October training. We will also address any questions that you may have about the initiative. You can watch the archived webinar here.
Thursday, September 7, 2017 at 2:00PM
October Training Registration
Remember, in order to be eligible to apply for seed funding your organization must participate in both half day workshops at one location. The training will not only help you when filling out your program proposals but will also give you helpful tools for starting your own Creative Aging program regardless of grant funding. Please note: There are a limited number of seats, and registration is on a first come, first serve basis.
About Us
Lifetime Arts’ mission is to encourage Creative Aging by promoting the inclusion of professional arts programs in organizations that serve older adults; to prepare artists to develop the creative capacity of older adult learners; and to foster lifelong learning in and through the arts by increasing opportunities for participation in community based programming.
Westchester Community Foundation’s mission is to connect generous people to the causes they care about and invest in transformative ideas and organizations to improve lives and strengthen our community. WCF is a division of The New York Community Trust, one of the largest community foundations in the country, with assets of approximately $2.6 billion.
Questions?
Submit questions via email to info@lifetimearts.org or call (914) 355-2304.
