What can you do to improve your community? There are many directions one can take but often times it requires a bit of foresight and planning. For many older adults, something as enjoyable and simple as volunteering can be a perfect use of time, but for many the willingness to volunteer can be met with physical and economic hurdles. Realizing there is much potential in their community members, the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center of Florida utilized an Aging in Place Initiative “Jumpstart the Conversation" Grant to engage more older adults in the local arts and culture community.
The Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center enjoys the involvement of more than 600 local volunteers, many of whom are older adults. Yet, major economic and physical constraints make participation inaccessible to many others who wish to join. In reaction to this obstacle, the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center partnered with the Arts Council of Hillsborough County to use their "Jumpstart the Conversation" Grant for delivering a workshop that would remove the barriors facing many older adult volunteers.
The workshop explored the personal perspectives of older adults on the subject of accessibility, while providing a forum for them to voice the obstacles they perceived to inhibit their participation in the community’s arts and cultural offerings. The four-hour workshop encouraged older adults to share personal stories of strategies they have used to overcome obstacles for volunteering and to provide suggestions that could help communities and organizations engage more senior citizens in participation. Recommendations from the workshop focused on issues such as transportation, health, financial considerations, social support, communication and volunteer acknowledgement.
As a result of the collaborative efforts from both the participants and the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, there has been a successful push to eliminate the hurdles that prevent many potential volunteers from joining. Helpful suggestions and dialogue that resulted from the workshop acknowledged that local senior citizens were beneficial in supporting the arts and cultural community of Tampa Bay. And many of the participants were glad to see the organizations make the effort to listen to local citizens.
Seeing older adults in their community as assets allowed the Performing Arts Center management to formulate changes to the way in which the organization operates, so that many more interested individuals can volunteer with the arts and cultural scene of Tampa Bay.
Check out more about the "Jumpstart the Conversation" Grants here
The Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center enjoys the involvement of more than 600 local volunteers, many of whom are older adults. Yet, major economic and physical constraints make participation inaccessible to many others who wish to join. In reaction to this obstacle, the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center partnered with the Arts Council of Hillsborough County to use their "Jumpstart the Conversation" Grant for delivering a workshop that would remove the barriors facing many older adult volunteers.
The workshop explored the personal perspectives of older adults on the subject of accessibility, while providing a forum for them to voice the obstacles they perceived to inhibit their participation in the community’s arts and cultural offerings. The four-hour workshop encouraged older adults to share personal stories of strategies they have used to overcome obstacles for volunteering and to provide suggestions that could help communities and organizations engage more senior citizens in participation. Recommendations from the workshop focused on issues such as transportation, health, financial considerations, social support, communication and volunteer acknowledgement.
As a result of the collaborative efforts from both the participants and the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, there has been a successful push to eliminate the hurdles that prevent many potential volunteers from joining. Helpful suggestions and dialogue that resulted from the workshop acknowledged that local senior citizens were beneficial in supporting the arts and cultural community of Tampa Bay. And many of the participants were glad to see the organizations make the effort to listen to local citizens.
Seeing older adults in their community as assets allowed the Performing Arts Center management to formulate changes to the way in which the organization operates, so that many more interested individuals can volunteer with the arts and cultural scene of Tampa Bay.
Check out more about the "Jumpstart the Conversation" Grants here