Building bridges across age and cognitive barriers through art
NextFifty Grant Funding to Build ScrippsAVID
OMA received a $58,678 grant from NextFifty Initiative, a Colorado-based foundation that supports efforts to improve the lives of older adults and their caregivers. This funding will allow us to build ScrippsAVID, a video-chat platform that connects older adults with younger people through sharing art, music, stories, and poetry. ScrippsAVID (Art-based, Virtual, Intergenerational, and Dementia-friendly) will be freely available to people living with and without dementia to connect with others across generations.

“This funding will not only allow us to build more intergenerational friendships,” OMA Founder Like Lokon says, “it will also address the social isolation and loneliness that have been exacerbated by the pandemic.”  
2022 OMA Facilitator Training Dates
Upcoming Facilitator Training Dates:
  • Hybrid Training in Roanoke, VA begins April 11, 2022
  • Fully Online Training begins April 12, 2022
  • Hybrid Training in Canal Fulton, OH begins June 27, 2022
Funding Available to Implement OMA in OH and VA
Our partners at Art for the Journey in Richmond, VA, have received a $1,083,382 grant with LeadingAge Virginia to implement OMA in nursing homes across the state. Now, long-term care providers in both Ohio AND Virginia can apply for funding to implement OMA.

Selected nursing homes will receive scholarships for two staff members to attend OMA training (valued at $1,500), plus $2,000 to purchase art supplies. Fully online and hybrid trainings are available. Don't miss this opportunity to bring a highly rated, person-centered program to your location! For more information about opportunities in each state, click the boxes below.
Maude's Innovations in Alzheimer's Care: Resource Book
Maude's Awards published their second annual Handbook of Innovations, a resource featuring all the programs that submitted proposals for grant funding, including OMA! Download a digital copy of the book or visit Maude's Awards website to request a print version.
OAEA Distinguished Citizen Award
Dr. Elizabeth “Like” Lokon won the Ohio Art Education Association’s (OAEA) 2021 Distinguished Citizen for Art Education award. The award recognizes her outstanding performance as an art educator and her work that has greatly impacted her students and community. Dr. Stephanie Danker from the Art Education department at Miami University (pictured) nominated her for the award. Congratulations, Like!
Featured Virtual OMA Participant: Mickey Bement
Mickey has been involved with OMA since 2014 as both volunteer and artist. In this post, Mickey shares her journey in the program and the friendships she has made along the way. She says, "It’s not only what we’re doing, but also who we become to one another in the process. And who we become to ourselves. It’s a very growth-producing experience."
Art Idea: Tree Poem
The Creative Caregiving Guide offers FREE lessons to engage in creative activities. In this lesson, Gary Glazner from the Alzheimer's Poetry Project demonstrates how to create a poem using natural objects around your home and neighborhood.
Connect With Us
Phone: (513) 529-2914