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HighNotes for Older Adults

HighNotes for Older Adults

Since April, the Evanston Care Network—a collaboration between the Evanston Community Foundation, Evanston 311, the Evanston Public Library, and the City of Evanston—has worked to address pandemic-related problems in our community, with one group focused on problems affecting seniors that are intensified by shelter-in-place protocols: social isolation, depression, monotony, boredom. An idea developed by the group was a senior activity packet to be delivered electronically or in printed form. The resulting Brain Break activities packet contains a TV guide for Brain Break programming on local public access Ch. 6, information on the Evanston Care Network, a listing of events taking place in the City of Evanston for the month, resources for food, as well as activities including mandala coloring, brain teasers, arts and crafts, puzzles, and word games.

Who better to invite to contribute content as a gift from the ESO than Kelly Brest van Kempen? Using the KidNotes template, she created an amazing 20-page “bonus pack”—dubbed HighNotes and distributed to all Brain Break subscribers. In adapting to a new audience, Kelly says she used some of the content from KidNotes with changes for a more mature reader and incorporated related articles of interest to seniors. One example is a column called “Bygones,” which highlights things that were around 50-70 years ago when today’s seniors were kids—like Black Jack Chewing Gum and S&H Green Stamps—but are now gone for good or very hard to find. Enthusiastic response to HighNotes by both editors of and subscribers to Brain Break has led to getting Kelly to agree to continue monthly contributions indefinitely!

We salute Kelly for sharing her gifts in getting out the ESO message that “music for the ages” also means “music for all ages”!

HighNotes