Local foundation receives funding

Local foundation receives funding to bring singing and music-making clubs to area seniors.

Kelowna, B.C. April 12, 2012: Sing for Your Life Foundation, BC, (SFYL B.C.) has received a Federal government grant through the New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP) to facilitate participatory singing and music-making sessions — Silver Song Clubs — for Kelowna-area seniors who are aging in place (at home).
Silver Song Club is an initiative that was first established in the United Kingdom (UK) more than six years ago. The program is designed to enhance the physical and mental well-being of elders.
In 2011, with funding from the Central Okanagan Foundation the newly-established Canadian-affiliate of the UK Sing For Your Life Foundation held a six, 90-minute session pilot Silver Song Club in West Kelowna where 30 seniors aged 62 to 88 participated. This new Federal government funding will allow SFYL B.C. to establish up to three Silver Song Clubs in Kelowna this fall to accommodate 100 seniors.
The Silver Song Clubs sessions combine a variety of song genres and increasingly-challenging singing experiences include rounds, layered songs, hand gestures and the playing of percussion instruments. The Silver Song Club model has been formally evaluated in the UK and shown to invoke memories, stimulate fine and grand motor skills, enhance breathing, and help reduce isolation and depression through social interaction, reminiscence and shared performance. The program in the UK has had significant success with dementia patients and those suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to build on the success of our pilot project and expand the reach and impact of this proven model,” says Nigel Brown, Director of SFYL B.C. who says the health-benefits provided can help reduce or delay seniors’ demands on the healthcare system. “The award of this grant appears extremely timely as the World Health Organization has just announced that dementia cases worldwide will triple to more than 155 million by 2050. Heavy social and financial burdens associated with them are set to soar in the coming decades. Apparently only eight countries worldwide have a strategic plan to address dementia and Canada is not one of them.”
Okanagan healthcare providers are also responding to the grant award to SFYL B.C. “We are pleased that the Silver Song Club program will continue in the Kelowna community,” says Ruby Ng of the Alzheimer Society of B.C. “We welcome this proven model that may help some of our clients to enhance their quality of life when living with Alzheimer’s disease.”
The Silver Song Clubs will commence later this year and be held once a month for 12 weeks. The Clubs will be held at various Kelowna locations and led by a trained Facilitator.
For more information:
Nigel Brown, Director, Sing For Your Life Foundation, BC
Tel: 250-860-5408
nigel@sing4yourlife.ca
Pilot video: http://tinyurl.com/698cezu

New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP)
www.hrsdc.gc.ca

Alzheimer Society British Columbia
www.alzheimerbc.org/