We are so excited to present to you The Village Chicago 2023 Trailblazers. You will see in their stories what inspired them to create new paths for others to follow, and what motivates them to carry on with their important work.
Please join us on Monday, September 18 at our annual benefit, Jazzin' With The Village to celebrate these outstanding Trailblazers and the community that we have built together.
Warm regards,
Darcy Evon, CEO
P.S. Tell us what you think! You can send 'letters to the editor' by hitting reply or sending an email to info@thevillagechicago.org
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The Village Chicago
2023 Trailblazer Awards
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Each year, The Village Chicago selects Trailblazers for their extraordinary contributions to building a more age-inclusive society, improving the quality of life for older adults within an intergenerational framework, and changing the narrative on age. We recognize an individual, organization, and author for their outstanding achievements.
This year, we are thrilled to honor two people who share equally in the individual award for their work in improving lives through the power of music; a university for the organization award because of its long-standing commitment to age inclusion and community betterment; and an author who has written a brilliantly compelling book on destigmatizing age. Meet the winners!
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Individuals: Jonathan and Sandy Miller |
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Jonathan and Sandy Miller have created a rare and important organization that brings to older adults the very special kind of joy and community that comes with ensemble singing.
Founded in 2016, the Sounds Good! Choir is an engaged, connected, open-to-all community of devoted, happy singers. The organization currently offers eight choirs in the greater Chicagoland area.
Jonathan Miller serves as Artistic Director, directing several choirs and leading the Sounds Good! conducting team. He draws on his 40+ year career as a choral conductor, professional singer, and composer/arranger which includes founding of the virtuoso ensemble, Chicago a cappella, and serving as its artistic director for 27 years.
The Rev. Dr. Sandy Siegel Miller works on all facets of program strategy and is “keeper of the culture“ as the guiding spirit of the programs for people with memory loss and their care partners.
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In 2016, the Millers had an opportunity to observe a choir that included people with memory loss. They saw that 30 to 45 minutes into the rehearsal, something happens to the people who have memory loss. "It's like their brains switch on or wake up. And for the rest of the time in the rehearsal, you can't tell who has dementia from who doesn't," says Jonathan. Recognizing the enormous impact that music has on people with early-stage memory loss, in 2018 they launched the Good Memories Choir where individuals and their care partners sing together.
And now, Dr. Siegel Miller is coordinating a team of neurology researchers at Northwestern including Dr. Borna Bonakdarpour and Clara Takarabe, founders of the Music and Medicine Program.They are studying the impact of choral singing on older adults, which will contribute important data to the fascinating and growing field of music and medicine.
Dr. Siegel Miller says, "Every time we perform, we are putting a public face on what being an older adult looks like. When people see the fun and joy and success that our singers are having, we're bashing through the stereotypes and the stigmas that our culture attaches to older adults."
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Organization: DePaul University |
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DePaul University has demonstrated a deep commitment to forming partnerships that bring cultural and social enrichment to the communities that surround it. When The Village Chicago was forming in 2009, DePaul was one of its earliest supporters, offering meeting space, funding, experts, and collaboration. They helped the Village and the city foster an age-inclusive climate where all can thrive. In addition, community outreach through programs that range from bringing music education to people of all ages; to the annual day of service with 50+ community partners; to an exploration of housing challenges facing older adults, all mark DePaul as a devoted and generous citizen of our city. |
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DePaul's President, Robert Manuel (pictured, left) is very clear on the role the university plays in the community at large. He says, "The heart of a university is to make sure that we educate our students to understand their place in the civic community, and their place in leading and being representatives out in the world where the most pressing questions of the day are managed." |
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"Our students volunteer more than 100,000 hours a year, and we're committed to making sure that they understand that their education has to be able to serve others in the world."
- DePaul University psychology professor Joseph Mikels has been awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health for his work on emotion, aging, and decision-making throughout the lifespan. Mikels and his team will examine what motivates adults of different ages to lead healthy lifestyles and exercise, and will also explore how these choices specifically affect people with a genetic risk for dementia.
- The Institute for Housing Studies (IHS) is a research center based at DePaul University that informs affordable housing policy and practice. A 2023 report analyzes access to affordable rental housing for Chicago's lowest income households and its implications for the growing older adult (65+) population in Chicago and suburban Cook County.
President Manuel observes "... DePaul and Chicago grew up together and ... our worlds are tied intimately together as we develop quality of life for everybody from the young to the old. It is a wonderful opportunity for us to show our education in action."
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Author: Tracey Gendron, PhD |
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Dr. Gendron serves as Chair for the Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Gerontology, and as Director for the Virginia Center on Aging. She has dedicated her 25-year career to raising awareness and ending ageism through education.
She writes, "The meaning we assign to being old and the concept of age identity are socially constructed." Her book "unmasks" the origins of ageism, who benefits from perpetuating it, and sets the stage to create a society where "...everybody of every age matters, ... feels a sense of belonging, feels a sense of inclusion."
Gendron observes, "Over time we have industrialized and profitized a system that was founded on the premise of age and ability exclusion and that has contributed to ageism, ableism and the intersection of the two."
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It is in part based on the narrative that being a useful worker has a time limit and that "retirement" is earned and should be desired. The rise of labor unions in the mid 1880's introduced mandatory retirement policies that led to the modern retirement system and the Security Act which established 65 as the official start of old age.
Meanwhile, the marketing of amenity-laden retirement communities set up the notion that "...happiness in old age meant moving to an age-restricted activity-based lifestyle community for a well-deserved life of leisure. Our society has been built around retirement which is widely used as another term for older adulthood." The very word "retirement" is based on a deficit mindset - what I used to do, who I used to be.
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Ageism is also reinforced by the “successful aging" paradigm which suggests that looking and acting like those who are middle-aged or younger should be a primary objective as we grow older. Gendron writes, "What we talk about, what we teach each other, and what we model is the single story of aging as physical decline. What we lack is a story that captures the rich, nuanced complexities of the aging process taken as a whole."
Gendron's message is clear and hopeful: "Aging is a slow and steady process of change that ultimately leads to our becoming our unique, individual selves. Aging is not about older people. Aging is about all of us, all the time. It is the one universal truth that truly does connect us all together."
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Jazzin' With The Village - 2023 Annual Benefit News
It's our 14th anniversary and we can't wait to celebrate with you! We're planning a wonderful event with great food and drink, presentation of the 2023 Trailblazer Awards, a not-to-be-missed performance by the wonderful Porchlight Music Theatre. ... and opportunities to take home some fabulous auction items!
Early Bird Tickets
RSVP right away for the early bird ticket price - good until September 1. Invite your friends! This event is a fun and different way to entertain - just send an email to info@thevillagechicago.org with their names and addresses and our staff can send an invite, or pick up invitations in the Village office.
Auction Excitement Is Building!
Get ready for auction items that are all about experiences! There will be many special ways to treat yourself ranging from a one-week stay at a lovely Pompano Beach condo; three nights in a unique music lover's cottage in Three Oaks, MI; to a four-course chef's tasting with wine pairings; to tickets for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, movies, and sports!
Raffle
Raffle tickets are on sale right now for a chance to win one of these great prizes:
- A $500 gift card
- A one-year gift membership to The Village Chicago
- Four Cubs tickets for 2024 - Premier seats near home plate, row 13
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RSVP today for our upcoming in-person and virtual events! For full descriptions and registration, visit thevillagechicago.org.
- (8/24) NEW! Sound Meditation in Person or Online
- (8/24) NEW DATE! MacTutor: All the Settings Changes You Need to Know, Part II
- (8/24) NEW! Plaza Suite: A Play Reading
- (8/26) Saturday Afternoon at the Movies - In Person!
- (8/28) NEW! Gay Card at PrideArts
- (8/29) Exercise at Home with Jill Stein
- (8/30) NEW! Beyond Words: The Science and Magic of Storytelling
- (8/30) NEW! Community Safety with the 17th District Police Advisory Council
- (8/31) Weekly Walks Around North Pond
- (9/5) Brain Connection Cafe
- (9/5) Favorite Films of the 30's and 40's: Stagecoach (1939)
- (9/6) Great Books, Great Conversations: War
- (9/7) Coffee Chat BYOC
- (9/9) NEW! Fall Bird Walk
- (9/10) NEW! Tiny Theatre Presents: Birthday Candles at Northlight Theatre
- (9/13) NEW! A Conversation with the Cook County Sherriff's office – Presented by the Village Men’s Group
- (9/14) NEW! Rewiring Without Limits: Brain Plasticity
- (9/18) NEW! Jazzin' with the Village
- (9/20) Death Cafe
- (9/25) NEW! Caregiver Support Group - Information Session
- (9/26) NEW! Healthy Bodies and Brains
- (9/28) NEW! Solving Your Medicare Dilemmas
- (10/7) NEW! Chicago’s Movable Bridges Tour Presented by The Life 3.0 & Program Committees
To RSVP for any event, please visit our web calendar or email us at celebrate@thevillagechicago.org!
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Village Member Pastime Groups |
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Are you...
Looking for a new career, about to retire, wondering what's next? Seeking companions that share your interests? Searching for a way to utilize your abilities? In need of occasional help? New to Chicago? Worried about changing needs? An adult child with aging parents?
Village members are part of an inclusive, multigenerational community, connected to others and to the resources that support growth and well-being as we navigate life after 50 together.
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Leadership of The Village Chicago |
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Board of Directors
David Baker, President
Judith Gethner, Secretary
Dick Sullivan, Treasurer
Thomas C. Eley III, Vice President
Joan Goldstein,
Vice President
Therese Meike,
Vice President
Kathie Kolodgy, Member at Large
Karen Terry, Immediate Past President
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Don Bell
Stefanie Clark
Charles G. Cooper
Carol Hitchie
Ira Kohlman
Angie Levenstein
Molly Matthias
Liz Metzger
Gail Moss
Carol Stein
Lois Stuckey
Vamse Kumar Subbiah
Jan Walters
Joyce Winnecke
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Advisory Council
Neelum T. Aggarwal, MD
Robyn L. Golden, LCSW
Joanne G. Schwartzberg, MD
Mary Ann Smith
CEO
Darcy L. Evon
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The Village Chicago is a social network of friendship, engagement and services for people over 50. We support all aspects of well-being through social engagement, an extensive services and referral network, lifelong learning, health and fitness, intergenerational relationships, work and purpose.
2502 North Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois 60614. 773.248.8700
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