This Wednesday, January 25th, at 6:30pm, KAETA will present its (now traditional) recital at Sunnyside Village, in the chapel (for directions, click here)! Sunnyside has hosted us year after year and was one of the organizations which gave us the confidence to become who we are. Admission is free, and you'll be treated to a short (30-45 minutes) of music, stories, and magic tricks (?!?) shared by students and seniors. We're excited to see what will happen!
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Shortly before Thanksgiving, we received a note from one of our student participants ("Project Storytime"), and we'd like to share that note with you here as we look ahead optimistically to 2017. Needless to say, everything we do at KAETA is for moments like this one.
“ I met Rose in January of 2016. We instantly bonded over our love of texting. We met a couple of times after that, in which she told me all about her crazy life. I made a 4 minute video about her, which she promptly shared with all her kids and grandkids. But perhaps the most touching thing to happen was on July 16th. Let me put this in context for you, I was in Turkey for the summer, and the night before, July 15th, there had been a military coup. The military tried to take over the streets, so the cities were in chaos. On the morning of July 16th I received a text from Rose asking me if everything was alright, asking what was going on. This text came before all of my friend’s texts. I was so emotional, because not only did she remember the small detail that I was Turkish, but also that I was going to be in Turkey. I explained the situation to her, and she told me she would pray for my safe passage home.
After my return to America, we met again. This time she invited me to dinner. Dinner at the Sunnyside retirement village is very similar to lunch at a high school. There are cliques and even social drama. When I was about to leave, Rose gave me a box of cookies she had baked and told me that even though she already has 20+ grandchildren, she thinks of me as one of them. We hugged and I promised to bake cookies with her before the holidays. My meeting of a Rose was so unlikely and unexpected, and it would not have happened if I hadn’t needed a couple extra volunteering hours. ”
Heartwarming Holidays shared by two of KAETA's "Project Storytime" participants.
As you know, KAETA is a public charity which operates through your tax-deductible donations (click here). However, there is another way you can help which has nothing to do with us! Upon President Obama's leaving office, the Obama Foundation was created. They're currently seeking ideas for how to best focus their efforts. You can help all of us by encouraging them to focus on intergenerational efforts. KAETA firmly believes this kind of dialogue will be one of the most important pathways to a brighter future in America. Please take a moment to offer your encouragement to the Obama Foundation:
Click here to open a new window and add your voice of support for intergenerational programming!