Spring 2021

Dear Friends,

Hooray for Spring! It has certainly been a long year since we had to close down on-site service in March 2020 and convert to virtual programs and telephone support. We are ready for warmer weather, getting outdoors, and feeling the renewal and hope that come with the buds and blossoms around us. It brings to mind many of the fun outdoor trips we’ve taken over the years to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden with the Memory Arts Café program.

As we’ve talked with members and caregivers over the past year, it’s clear how difficult the pandemic has been for them. Caregiver Angillia Byer summed it up:

“Before the pandemic, the time my husband Kelvin spent at the Center let me run errands and have time to myself. These days, the most enjoyable part of our day is when we interact with Center staff and clients for our hour of fun, relaxation or physical exercise on Zoom. New York Memory Center plays an important role in our lives.”

Your financial support will ensure that when the time comes to reopen, we’ll be able to flip on the lights, gas up our vans and bring our members back to the Center. By giving today, you will help caregivers like Angillia work or do errands without worry or interruptions.

While we haven’t taken any actual field trips, we’ve made a lot of virtual trips around the country and across many cultures with the Memory Arts Café. The Café has continued to meet almost monthly, and we’ve had quite a line-up of guests, including: Dom Flemons, The American Songster, in Illinois; Mort the Poetry Dog and his sidekick Ritah Parrish in Oregon; Lillian Pearl the Jazz Pup and singer Jenna Mammina in Michigan; and Laura Wiley, the Queen of Disco Rollerskating, with pup Kiwi all the way from Florida. And every weekday we offer programs including: Yoga, Karaoke, Percussion, Poetry, Tai-Chi, Accordion Music, and Sing Along.
 
Your support will help guarantee that we are ready to welcome back clients here on 14th Street whenever the city and state allow us to reopen, with more programs, new equipment and better surroundings. Never ones to be idle, our staff has made good use of the time this past year by creating more program space, setting up dividers in the dining room, establishing new safety measures and participating in city and state training to update us all on the new health guidelines.

Staying open, with free virtual programming and limited staff, still costs money, and city and state grants are tightening up. Can we count on you to ensure that we can keep going for as long as needed at the current level and back to full speed as soon as we can?

Sincerely,

Josephine Brown
Executive Director

P.S. Thanks to everyone who has done a personal fundraiser for New York Memory Center on Facebook. Your donations of any size and format really help  us continue to support the individuals and families living with this disease. To give online, please click on the “Network for Good” button below.