The Geezer Gallery supports older adults’ health and well–being as they navigate the challenges and opportunities of aging
Some corporate sponsorships go the extra mile because they are extremely passionate about and dedicated to a specific cause and want to do their best to help that community. They lead by example for other corporate sponsorships that could be doing more to help. One example of this would be The Geezer Gallery (TGG).
Image source: Senior Citizens
What is The Geezer Gallery?
The Geezer Gallery is a registered non-profit organization dedicated to celebrating master-level senior artists and providing “art as therapy” programs to the local seniors in the community. The gallery also creates inter-generational art where seniors and youth come together to make it.
The proceeds raised through The Geezer Gallery from art sales and other events help fund therapeutic art programs for seniors in our community. These programs are designed to enable brain-cell growth, dexterity, and opportunity for self-expression and foster social connections for at-risk seniors.
The Geezer Gallery supports older adults as they navigate the challenges and opportunities of aging. According to their website, research shows that active participation in professional art programming improves the quality of life and promotes physical, mental, and emotional health and social engagement. Thus, The Geezer Gallery hopes to engage older adults in therapeutic programs to impact their lives positively.
Its overall mission is based on the rapid growth of the elderly population. As that population rises, so does the strain on the US healthcare systems, meaning there is less access to specific care needed. The Geezer Gallery recognizes that the elderly experience economic, social, physical, and mental vulnerability. The Geezer Gallery also recognizes that creative and artistic pursuits can counteract these vulnerabilities and significantly impact the improvement of the elderly’s health and well-being.
What kinds of therapeutic programs does The Geezer Gallery provide through its corporate sponsorship program?
The Geezer Gallery offers two overarching therapeutic programs to older people. The first program is Moment-to-Moment for patients with Alzheimer’s. This therapeutic program consists of a customized weekly art program for older individuals with cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s type dementia. Participants are encouraged to create an art piece each week, and at the end of the program, they will leave with professionally-bound portfolios of their work.
Image Source: Faith Kaya
The second therapeutic program that The Geezer Gallery offers is called Capturing Time: Journaling Your Journey. The purpose of this program is based on a TGG-developed curriculum designed to enhance older adults’ physical and mental health and increased socialization. The program inspires participants to create their own book of thoughts, memories, and meaningful experiences in their lives to practice storytelling and express who they are and what they’ve accomplished.
How has The Geezer Gallery corporate sponsorship had a positive impact so far?
Overall, participants of these programs have reported lower depression and apathy levels, less pain, and increased social engagement and self-esteem during and after the program. The Geezer Gallery has served over 2,000 low-income seniors with Capturing Time and Moment-to-Moment programs. The communities TGG has partnered with include numerous REACH housing communities, Maybelle Macdonald Residence, Emerson House, Hollywood Senior Center, and several Marquis Assisted Living/Skilled Nursing facilities, Juanita Pohl Senior Centers, and several others.
In addition, The Geezer Gallery has made waves in the community in other ways as well. TGG conducted a year-long collaborative research project with OHSU that has proven the
efficacy of TGG’s programs. They also have continued partnerships with retirement communities such as Mary’s Woods, Hollywood Senior Center, Maybelle Residence, and others, Montgomery Park, the Galleria, and numerous Portland law firms and businesses, where its artists receive excellent visibility through exhibitions and art programming.
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