Events of Interest In and Around town
We Thought You Might Be Interested...
The Greater Philadelphia Area is rich with opportunities to learn, expand and enjoy new experiences. This page is dedicated to events, programs and outings that our members may be interested in but which are not directly associated with or endorsed by TTN.Check back from time to time for new information.
The Performance Garage
The Performance Garage serves Philadelphia’s performing arts communities and hosts dance performances ranging from experimental works by emerging artists to notable repertoires by your favorite dance companies. They have been a venue for the Philadelphia Fringe Festival since 2009, and annually host groups participating in the city wide celebration.The Performance Garage also hosts a diverse schedule of dance classes in a variety of styles. Current class offerings include Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Egyptian, West African,Fitness and a free after school dance program for neighborhood youth.
For more information: https://www.performancegarage.org/
Volunteer Opportunities with Cradles to Crayons
Cradles to Crayons provides children from birth through age twelve living in homeless or low-income situations with the essential items they need to thrive – at home, at school and at play. The organization supplies these items free-of-charge by engaging and connecting communities that have with communities that need.The organization collects new and nearly new children’s items through grassroots community drives and corporate donations. Donations are processed and packaged by volunteers and then are distributed to disadvantaged children across Pennsylvania through a collaborative network of social service agencies and school partners.
See www.cradlestocrayons.org/philadelphia for more information.
Volunteer Opportunities with Hosts for Hospitals
Hosts for Hospitals (HfH) is a nonprofit agency that provides lodging and support at volunteer host-homes for typically $20 per night per patient-family as a caring response to the lodging needs of patients and their loved ones coming to Greater Philadelphia for specialized medical care. Since July 2000, more than 3,400 patient-families have been welcomed in Delaware Valley HfH homes.
Hosts are ordinary people from all walks of life. They welcome patient-families in need into their homes, be they houses or apartments. Hosts are not responsible for meals or transportation…just a clean and comfortable place for their guests to sleep.
For information about becoming a host, please contact Hosts for Hospitals at lodging@hostsforhospitals.org or 484.380.2999. For additional details, see www.hostsforhospitals.org.
Volunteer Opportunities with Bartram's Garden
Bartram's Garden is a 45-acre National Historic Landmark, operated by the John Bartram Association in cooperation with Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Department. The John Bartram Association's mission is to protect and enhance the landmark Bartram's Garden and House; advance the Bartram legacy of discovery, gardening, and art; and inspire audiences of all ages to care for the natural world. There are a wide range of gardens and plant species to be attended to and knowledgeable, attentive staff will supervise and provide information that enhance the gardening experience. Additionally, at Bartram's, members of the community have plots of land to garden and welcome the help of volunteers.
For more information: www.bartramsgarden.org
Volunteer Opportunities with Ronald McDonald House
Philadelphia’s newest Ronald McDonald House at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, located on Erie Avenue in front of the hospital’s main campus, provides a haven for families of children being treated at St. Christopher’s and other area hospitals. Ronald McDonald Houses provide lodging, comfort and support to families who travel 25 miles or more for medical treatment. Although families are asked to pay a nominal fee, no family is ever turned away due to an inability to pay.
The facility follows the model of the very first Ronald McDonald House, which was established in Philadelphia in 1974 and has inspired hundreds of Ronald McDonald Houses that have helped more than 10 million families around the world. Today, there are more than 286 Ronald McDonald Houses located in 25 countries.
Volunteers play an important role in providing daily meals for families staying at Ronald McDonald House. Dates can be arranged for TTN volunteers to prepare and serve meals as well as get acquainted with the families. This could be an ideal project for TTN peer groups or special interest groups. Please contact the event coordinator if your peer group or SIG would like information about volunteering as a group.
For more information: www.philarmh.org/our-programs/hospitality-kiosk
Volunteer Opportunities with Vetri Community Partnership
Vetri Community Partnership was founded in 2008 by chef Marc Vetri and restauranteur Jeff Benjamin to help kids experience the connection between healthy eating and healthy living. Volunteer opportunities are available in schools throughout the Philadelphia area. Opportunities include:
- EATIQUETTE: Supervising scratch-made, family-style meals during student lunch programs
- VETRI COOKING LAB: Assisting in an after-school program combining cooking and nutrition
- MOBILE TEACHING KITCHEN: Help with demonstration cooking classes on a travelling food truck
Volunteer Docent Opportunity at the Penn Museum
Founded in 1887, the Penn Museum has always been one of the world’s great archaeology and anthropology research museums, and the largest university museum in the United States. With roughly one million objects in our care, the Penn Museum encapsulates and illustrates the human story: who we are and where we came from.
Docents lead gallery tours on behalf of the Penn Museum. Tours last 50 minutes, and focus on one of the cultures highlighted in the Museum’s galleries. The content for these tours is developed in consultation with the Guide Program Manager, lead gallery docent, as well as curatorial sections. Tours are booked for weekends and most are either open public tours, or tours for private events.
Required Training: Training for the docent program is quite rigorous. Before joining the museum’s docent program, applicants will be interviewed by Learning Programs staff. Following a successful interview, perspective docents will accompany several docent tours. After selecting a gallery to focus on, the perspective docent will be given a reading list with background on the collection in that gallery. New docents must also complete a 12-hour training course focusing on educational best practices for leading tours. Perspective docents develop a tour based on outlines provided by the Learning Program Department. After these tours are developed they are approved the Guide Program Manager, lead gallery docent, and curatorial sections. Successful completion of training, and readiness to lead tours, is based on approval by the Guide Program Manager.
Qualifications: Docent volunteers must have at least 1 year of educational experience. This can include working in a classroom. Less formal experiences, such as working as a summer camp counselor, or tutor may also be considered. Docents must be over 18 years of age.
Requirements: Docents are required t purchase a membership to the Penn Museum. This will keep them informed on all upcoming museum events. They are also required to offer one weekday a week to be free to lead tours. In addition to this availability, docents are required to attend a monthly meeting, the first Monday of every month. Finally, docents must undergo a background check for clearances on child abuse and criminal activity.
For additional information, contactKevin Schott
Education Programs Manager
Penn Museum
3260 South Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
215.898.4277 (office) / 215.898.3402 (fax)
kschott@upenn.edu
Volunteer Opportunities to Participate in Research about Memory
Temple University Memory, Concepts, and Cognition Lab would welcome mentally healthy older adults between 60 and 80 years old as research participants. Participants will be compensated for their time and all the studies are non-invasive.
Besides basic science research, the lab is developing novel treatments that promote language maintenance in Alzheimer's Disease. See http://www.reilly-coglab.com for more information on the scope of the lab's work.
Memory Concepts Cognition
Temple University
1301 Cecil B Moore
Philadelphia, PA 19121
215-204-4350
www.reilly-coglab.com
ameliawb@temple.edu
The Penn Memory Center also needs healthy seniors for some of its research studies. For information about open research studies at the Penn Memory Center, go to:
http://pennadc.org/research/open-research-studies/.
Several FitC members are already engaged is memory research studies. Volunteering to help in memory research not only helps others, it is also an excellent way to learn more about an issue that concerns most seniors, memory loss. Consider making a contribution of time for the betterment of science.
For questions about memory research studies and what you would be asked to do, you must contact the labs.
For other questions about volunteering, email janescipioneweiss@gmail.com or pamfreyd@earthlink.net.
Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative
The Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) is a landmark clinical study to better understand the progression of Parkinson’s disease. Early detection is a crucial step to understanding the causes of and developing better treatments for Parkinson’s disease. PPMI aims to learn more about the link between the sense of smell and Parkinson’s disease. This study could help researchers detect PD in patients before the onset of motor symptoms. PPMI seeks 10,000 volunteers-people who are over the age of 60 and do not have Parkinson’s disease to participate in a survey that will assess whether they may qualify for the study. To get started, visit https://www.michaeljfox.org/get-involved/smellsurvey-screen.php?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=ppmi&utm_campaign=upenn&s_src=upenn&s_subsrc=email. Play a part in Biomarker research!
One Day University
At One Day University, we bring together professors from the finest schools in the country to present special versions of their very best lectures - LIVE. The professors that teach at One Day U have won dozens of teaching awards and earned the highest possible ratings from their students. Our students have the opportunity to "go back to college" with these amazing professors - not for four years, but for just one day. And best of all, there's no homework. No studying. No exams. Just the pure joy of lifelong learning.See One Day University to register or learn more.
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute - Temple University Center City
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Temple University is a lifelong learning academy where retired persons attend classes and pursue the joy of learning without the traditional academic requirements of tests and grades.
More about OLLI. Besides regular courses that meet over a college semester, OLLI also offers its members other options beyond course offerings, such as Friday Forum, Summer Cafes, OLLI Library and OLLI Lunchroom.
OLLI is a membership organization. Membership allows you to attend as many OLLI classes as you choose and many other benefits. Information about membership and benefits can be found here.
OLLI contact information.
Volunteers Wanted!
WOMEN OF ALL AGES are needed to build relationships that create a welcoming environment and help newcomers practice English and learn basic life skills.
No special skills required. You will receive training, on-going support and access to translation services. Group meetings with refugees will be held in South Philadelphia and the lower Northeast.
This program is made possible through a generous grant from the Barra Foundation.
For more information:
FriendshipAcrossCultures@gmail.com
(267) 225-5210 or (215) 204-6970
The W Connection: Widows Helping Widows Rebuild Their Lives.
The W Connection was created to meet the extensive unmet need for widows to easily find the emotional, social and daily living support needed to rebuild their lives.
The facts are compelling but not well known. Every 40 seconds a woman is widowed. There now are more than 11 million widows in the United States at an average age of 55 – this represents 10% of the country’s female population. We can expect this number grows by approximately 1,000,000 each year.
The W Connection is a grassroots organization designed to meet the needs of widows by capturing the potential of peer-to-peer support at the community level so that widows can successfully rebuild their lives and regain and sustain economic stability and social-emotional health. The W Connection is one of the first not for profits run exclusively by widows for the support of widows. It is unique because, unlike other organizations that just deal with grief, this organization helps to take women beyond the initial stages of bereavement. The W Connection’s focus is on helping women rebuild a future with the goal of once again leading a happy and productive life.
The W Connection connects widows to information, training and each other. Its mission is to provide widows with a one stop Internet-based resource center and a national network of community based chapters. Access to these support systems will provide these women with the tools to move forward and rebuild. The rebuilding process must be thought of in terms of years- not weeks or months. There were 10 members at the start and now there are 300+ with seven chapters – two in NJ, two in NYC, one in Philadelphia and three on Long Island.
For more information on The W Connection events and activities in our area, visit their website at www.wconnection.org.
The Free Library of Philadelphia Author Events
The line up of authors at the Free Library of Philadelphia (20th & Ben Franklin Parkway) is particularly impressive. There are many author evenings which are free - but also others ones which require tickets. The most popular authors sell out within hours of going on sale - so take a look at the line up.Click here to see the Author Events.
Journey's Way: Training for Volunteers 55+ to Lead Groups on Successful Aging
Are you interested in “Touching Lives” of older adults? Touching Lives Over 55, a program of Journey's Way, currently is seeking dynamic volunteers to lead peer discussion groups on health and wellness, life after retirement, and successful aging. For twelve years, more than 170 volunteers ages 55-90 have lead "Next Chapter" discussion groups with over 4,900 older adults across Philadelphia!
Volunteers must be at least 55 and enjoy working with people, have excellent listening skills, and provide their own transportation. Discussion groups meet weekly in senior community centers throughout Philadelphia. Peer Leaders learn new skills, meet new people, and enrich lives!
The next training starts on September 27 and runs through October 18 at Journey’s Way, 403 Rector Street in Roxborough. To apply to become a Volunteer Peer Leader and begin writing your next chapter, contact Jan Zacharjasz at 215- 487-1750 ext. 1214 or email: jzacharjasz@intercommunityaction.org.
Senior Center Offers Free Computer Tutoring for Philadelphians Who Are 50 or Older
Do you have a spouse, relative or friend who would benefit from a free appointment with a computer tutor?
Our tutors, Caitlin Seifritz and Lou Seitchik, are excellent teachers who are known for being patient, kind and helpful. Based on our experience, we’re convinced that people who are anxious about learning to use a computer or laptop do best when they can work privately, one on one with a tutor.
This free service is available to all Philadelphians who are at least 50 years of age. Individuals who meet these qualifications are eligible for a 30 minute tutoring session every week, or until they no longer need it.
Caitlin works every Monday. She begins seeing clients at 10:00 A.M. and wraps up at 3:00 P.M.
Lou sees clients beginning at 10:00 A.M. Fridays (starting April 26) and wraps up at Noon.
To make an appointment with Caitlin or Lou, all a potential client needs to do is call (215) 686-5331 and request one. We can’t guarantee that a client can see a tutor at the same time every week.
The Senior Center is located on the first floor of the Parkway Central Library (1901 Vine Street).
The National Constitution Center
We are so fortunate to have the National Constitution Center in our city. Along with the home exhibit which includes Freedom Rising and Signers' Hall, there are excellent visiting exhibits throughout the year. And there are also evening programs featuring world-renowned guests like former Vice-President Al Gore and Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayer.Click here to see what's on the calendar in the coming months. Visit often!
The Princeton Senior Resource Center
Just a few miles north is the Princeton Senior Resource Center. It is a private non-profit organization that provides programs and resources that promote healthy aging for older adults. They offer many programs and services that may be of interest to our members.Click here to visit the site for more information.
Click here for the calendar of events.
Background
Next Step programs recognize that retirement is not an ending of working life, but rather the next step in one’s life progression – the opportunity to move to a new and rewarding stage of one’s life. That may be a new and more meaningful career, a chance to travel, volunteer, spend time with family, take courses and learn new skills, or anything else that you may have dreamed about doing with your life but never had the chance to do so.
PSRC, the Princeton Senior Resource Center, empowers adults 55 and older in the diverse Princeton community to make informed choices and live healthy lives. PSRC offers affordable services, programs, and opportunities that support, educate and engage older individuals, their families and caregivers. PSRC is a non-governmental, independent, 501(c)(3) organization.
