Stockton Age Friendly University (AFU) Update
by Karen Rose, Ph.D., SCOSA AFU champion; adjunct professor, Psychology and Health Science
This month we highlight creative initiatives sparked by the Age-Friendly University movement. As reported in a Generations Smart-Brief from the American Society on Aging, the State University of New York at Purchase has invested in land to build senior living housing on its campus. Residents will have convenient access to campus activities including classes and campus performances (Read about it here).
Stockton Age Friendly University Champion Writes About Covid & Ageism
Congratulations to Karen Rose, PhD, for her featured story, titled “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly: Covid and Ageism,” and thanks to Valerie Hayes and her colleagues on the Committee on Campus Diversity and Inclusive Excellence for including this thought-provoking article on Ageism in April’s Edition of Celebrate Diversity.
SCOSA Leaders Participate in International Webinar:
COVID 19 - Adapting and Innovating in Age-Friendly Universities
SCOSA director Dave Burdick and assistant director Christine Ferri participated in an international seminar on Friday April 23, 2021 hosted by the founder members of the Age-Friendly University Global Network: Arizona State (ASU), Dublin City University (DCU) and the Age-Friendly Academy at the University of Strathclyde (SU). Stockton was the first NJ university to join this global initiative.
According to the event invitation, “Higher education leaders and institutions will be defined by how they managed the COVID 19 crisis. Within the AFU Global Network, we have all had to adapt, innovate and successfully navigate the pandemic. For all, it has been a challenge as the strategic priority of our institutions focused on maintaining services. However, it has also offered new ways of working, demonstrating agility with a move to online learning and remote engagement. The event presentations and breakout groups focused on opportunities and positive innovation to responding to the global pandemic and share how we, as a network, have learned and adapted.
Thiw graph, provided by SCOSA Older Adult Education, Socialization and Recreation Coordinator Gina Maguire, demonstrates SCOSA’s successful pivot to the online environment. Burdick also briefly reported in the breakout room about the variety of supports and accommodations Stockton provided to students, staff and faculty during the pandemic.
GERO COORDINATOR’S COLUMN
by Christine Gayda-Chelder, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology, and SCOSA service chair
Congratulations to our Students Graduating with the Gerontology Minor!
A warm Congratulations to all students graduating this May with a minor in Gerontology! You continued your studies and internships amid a global pandemic and the Gerontology Program and SCOSA are proud of you and wish you the BEST in your future endeavors. Please join us for a celebration via Zoom on Friday, April 30 at 3:00 p.m. A Zoom link has been sent out but please contact me if you need additional information at Christine.Gayda@stockton.edu
Stockton Gerontology Interns Creatively Participate in an Internship Despite Covid-19 Limits on Visitation
Miranda “Randi” Berry and Michaela Giaquinto are senior Health Science majors with minors in Disability Studies and Gerontology, graduating in May 2021. Michaela also minors in Holistic Health with a goal to pursue a Master’s of Occupational Therapy. Randi also minors in Childhood Studies and this summer will start a Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling.
Due to COVID-19, both moved to remote learning this semester from home in northwestern NJ (Randi in Randolph, Michaela in Belvidere), causing additional difficulties in finding long-term care sites that were accepting interns. As non-essential visitors according to NJ guidelines, interns were closed out of many opportunities. “We are not accepting visitors or interns at this moment,” was a frequent reply, until Randi received a call from Tracy Dolan, activity director at Health Village Retirement Community in Hackettstown, who offered a virtual alternative.
Randi and Micaela created a weekly virtual curriculum that provided numerous therapeutic arts and craft activities for 10 residents of Heath Village needing more assistance and focused programming. Ms. Dolan’s staff led the programs, that included Trivia, Self-reflection Art, Workout/Stretching presentations, and Relaxation Coloring. Micaela, Randi, and Stockton’s Gerontology faculty are grateful to Ms. Dolan for coming to the rescue and providing an innovative way to provide this experience.
SCOSA ON FACEBOOK
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New Partnership for Holocaust Themed Programs
In a continual search for interesting offerings for SCOSA’s Older Adult Education, Socialization and Recreation programs, we have a new partnership with Echoes and Reflections to offer educational webinars about Holocaust studies. Take a look at our May programming for four interesting Holocaust themed programs!
May, 2021—Older Adult Education, Socialization & Recreation Programs
All programs are online via Zoom, unless otherwise noted.
Mindfulness Meditation and Guided Imagery Register HERE
5/4, 5/11, 5/18, & 5/25/2021 12-1pm
Join us for some mindfulness and relaxation to help slow your thoughts and enjoy a sense of calm.
Wednesdays at One Register HERE
5/5-7/28/2021 1-2pm
Wednesdays at One will be an opportunity for participants to learn with and from Stockton graduate occupational therapy students. All are welcome.
ASA Webinar: Mental and Emotional Health in Later Years
5/5/2021 1-2pm Register HERE
Untreated mental health disorders can have a significant impact on older adults, such as social isolation, placement in long-term care facilities and high rates of suicide. Older adults who show signs of having a mental disorder are less likely than younger adults to receive mental health services, and when they do, they are less likely to receive care from a mental health specialist. Professionals play a vital role in helping older clients and their families to recognize mental health disorders and support them in obtaining an evaluation and appropriate treatments.
SoulCollage & Creativity Workshops Register HERE
5/6 & 5/20/2021 1:30-3pm
A Mindfulness based, creative way to learn more about yourself. This workshop is an opportunity to take some time to learn more about yourself through a creative, personalized art process. No art experience is necessary. In the workshops, we will work together to share our art and hints to living more mindfully.
Memoir Writing for Beginners: 14 Themes of Time to Tell Register HERE
5/6 & 5/13/2021 1-2:30pm
Interested in writing your family stories, but not sure where to begin? Join us for personalized instruction with 14 weekly meetings to help you chronicle the stories of your life.
Using Art to Teach about the Holocaust Register HERE
5/6/2021 4-5pm
Visual art can be a very useful tool in the classroom to support students’ ability to connect to and understand complex or sensitive topics. The colorful embroidered story cloths sewn by Esther Nisenthal Kritinitz depict a young survivor’s journey through the occupation of her once bucolic peaceful village, the Holocaust, and her emigration to the United States. Her full collection is currently on display at the American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM) in Baltimore, MD. Brought to us by Echoes & Reflections.
Time to Tell Memoir Writing
5/17/2021 1-2:30pm Register HERE
Personalized instruction with monthly meetings to help you chronicle the stories of your life. Creative writing styles, including poetry and photographs, can also be used to tell your story.
Genealogy & Storytelling: Are There “Black Sheep” in Your Family?
5/18/2021 2:30-3:30pm Register HERE
Many of us have someone in our family that might be considered a “black sheep” — an individual who is considered odd or doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the family. Join us Tuesday, May 18th, to explore the many unusual traits and behaviors that would make someone be considered the “black sheep of the family” and learn how to discover their stories despite the silence of family members. Presented by Cynthia Theusch.
Celebrating Older Americans’ Month SILL Showcase
5/19/2021 10-11:30am Register HERE
Have you thought about joining a SILL course but didn't know what to expect? Join us as we share a sneak peak of upcoming SILL programming, you don't want to miss this!
Choices Matter: Complicity and Action during the Holocaust
5/19/2021 4-5pm Register HERE
One powerful lens through which to study the Holocaust is to examine the range of choices and decisions made by individuals, communities, and nations during this period of history. This approach not only encourages deep critical thinking and analysis, but can also serve as a catalyst to compel students to work towards making change in their own lives and the larger society. In this webinar examine the consequences of inaction and difficult choices of those who rescued and resisted during the Holocaust. Brought to us by Echoes & Reflections.
USC Shoah Foundation- Hold onto Your Music Holocaust Virtual Read
5/25/2021 11am-12pm Register HERE
Join this 50-minute one of a kind livestreamed event including a theatrical performance and concert based on the best-selling book, The Children of Willesden Lane. More than one million students across the world have experienced the Willesden READS program.
The American Soldier Who Risked His Life to Save Jewish POWs
5/25/2021 3-4pm Register HERE
During WWII, Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds of Knoxville, Tennessee, was taken prisoner by the Germans together with other American POWs. What he did to protect his fellow Jewish comrades is a truly dramatic and courageous story that earned him the title of Righteous Among the Nations. During this webinar, his son Pastor Chris Edmonds, author of No Surrender, will tell this story. Brought to us by Echoes & Reflections.
Diaries in Times of Crisis
5/27/2021 12-1:30pm Register HERE
We write during crisis and disasters for many reasons. To occupy our minds, to cope with our feelings. And, I would suggest, to record what it is like to live through such an experience. As a social historian, I have done a lot of oral history, or remembered history. Interviewing people about their lives, about specific events or places. And writing about that, always with the sense of urgency – a need to capture the lived experience before those voices are gone.
SPOTLIGHT on June and July SILL Classes
In June and July, we are offering four classes with some of Stockton’s best professors. Learn from the experts about the Holocaust, ice cream, Sylvia Plath, and Bob Dylan – for just $45 for a four-week course.
The Holocaust and the Christian World:
Reflections on the Past, Challenges for the Future
Carol Rittner, RSM, Distinguished Professor Emerita of Holocaust & Genocide Studies
June 3, 10, 17 and 24, Thursdays 11am-12noon
The Holocaust and the Christian World seems an unlikely combination of ideas, as surely nothing could be further removed from the principles, ethics, and aspirations of well-intentioned Christians. And yet, Christianity is linked to one of the greatest episodes of human hatred in history. This short course will focus on the following:
- Confronting the Holocaust
- The Reaction of the Christian Churches
- The Vatican and the Pope
- The Challenge of the Exception
Sylvia Plath & the Rosenstein Papers
Emily Van Duyne, MFA, Assistant Professor of Writing and First-year Studies
June 7, 14, 21 and 28, Mondays 2-3pm
In 1977, Harriet Rosenstein, a young scholar who had done her doctoral dissertation on Sylvia Plath's life and work, seemed to complete a biography of Plath which was under contract at Knopf. Rosenstein had spent the previous eight years gathering materials which included Plath's psychiatric records, autopsy report, and hundreds of hours of interviews with her contemporaries, almost all of whom had cooperated with her extensively, less than a decade after Plath's death.
For reasons that remain a mystery, Rosenstein never delivered the book. And she sat on all of the materials, fading from the public eye and Plath studies, until, in 2017, she put up the most valuable parts of her archive for sale by an antiquarian bookseller for $875,000. Her archive was made available for study for the first time in 2020. This class will focus on unraveling Rosenstein’s archive and the mystery of her unfinished book on Sylvia Plath.
The Science of Ice Cream
Joseph Trout, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Physics
Rosemary Trout, DHSC, Drexel Assistant Professor, Program Director Culinary Arts & Food Science
July 7, 14, 21 and 28, Wednesdays 12noon-1pm
Ice cream is loved in various forms all around the world. In this class, students will learn about the science behind the different styles of ice cream, ingredients, flavors, and techniques. The interdisciplinary field of food science synthesizes knowledge from chemistry, physics, physiology, microbiology and biochemistry. We will also discuss the history about and around this fabulous summer treat!
Bob Dylan: An American Phenotype
John O’Hara, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Critical Thinking & First-year Studies
July 9, 16, 23 and 30, Fridays 12:30-1:30pm
This short course will examine Bob Dylan as an American phenotype: the hardscrabble folk artist and poet, the visionary sage of Yankee consciousness and conscience, the American poet par excellence. His songs hearken to a diverse array of musicians, poets, troubadours, evangelists, preachers and pitch men: “I always thought of myself as a song and dance man,” he joked sarcastically in D.A. Pennebaker’s film, Don’t Look Back (1966). Despite his humble assertion, the striking lyrical quality of Dylan’s work, and his inscrutable character, have captivated scholars and the general public alike for six decades.
EVENTS AND NEWS IN AGING IN SOUTH JERSEY AND BEYOND
Join Zoom Meeting
https://rutgers.zoom.us/j/97750601148?pwd=UHp5SzNOVnR1dUhrdDBWR0NxTWdwUT09
Meeting ID: 977 5060 1148
Password: 029438
Vegan Diets and Osteoporosis, Tuesday, May 4, 6pm via Zoom, Free Event
May is National Osteoporosis Awareness Month, and much of our risk for osteoporosis and fractures can be reduced or avoided with good nutrition and regular exercise. People eating vegan and plant-based diets often have lower risks for certain health conditions and chronic diseases, but do vegan and plant-based diets increase our risk for osteoporosis? This webinar will review what osteoporosis is and how it is diagnosed, and the major lifestyle risk factors that are associated with loss of bone mass and fractures. Special attention will be paid to the role of vegan and plant-based diets in bone health and fracture prevention, as well as overall lifestyle recommendations to prevent and better manage osteoporosis. The Registration Link is below:
https://stockton.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAodOmtpjksGtAyIDcddOvTSSB2H5DAH55O
Contact Anthony Dissen at Anthony.Dissen@stockton.edu, or (609) 626-3847 with additional questions.
Join the Alzheimer’s Association for this May 12, virtual forum. Register at Alzheimer's Camden County 5-12-21 Virtual Event or call (800) 272-3900 with additional questions.
Research Opportunity for Latino/Latina Adults Aged 60+
Victoria Beach, a Clinical Psychology doctoral student at Texas Tech University, needs assistance with research. I am conducting a research study on the life experiences of Latino/Latina adults aged 60 and older in order to gain a better understanding of both the successes and difficulties of aging. I am looking for Latino/Latina adults aged 60 and older who speak English. You will be asked to participate in a 5-minute telephone call to determine eligibility. If eligible, you will be emailed a set of questionnaires to complete, which will take between 20-35 minutes. Your participation is completely voluntary, and you can stop at any point in the study. After completion of the study, you will be eligible to enter into a drawing for a $25 gift card. Please contact Victoria Beach at victoria.beach@ttu.edu or by phone at 616-724-0885 if you are interested in participating or have any questions.
JFS’ Village by the Shore Virtual Programs in May 2021
DIY Container Garden, Tuesday, May 4 from 10:30am to 11:30am
Embrace your green thumb and join an informative session on creating and maintaining your own early summer vegetable and flower container garden. You’ll learn how to grow Jersey Fresh veggies and beautiful flowers. This program is free for Holocaust Survivors and Village Members. For non-members, the cost is $5. RSVP by April 22.
Nurse’s Roundtable: Choosing a New Doctor & COVID-19 Update,
Wednesday, May 5 from 10:30am to 11:30am
Is your primary care physician or specialist retiring or relocating? Changing physicians can be stressful. Nurse Educator Lori Pasahow can help guide the process to prepare you for the switch. You’ll learn how to conduct research for a new doctor, what to look for and if you should hold an interview. We will also cover what visits are appropriate for tele-health appointments and if your perspective has changed since the pandemic. In the second half of the presentation, we will answer your COVID-19 questions and provide the latest updates. RSVP by April 28.
The Positivity Project, Thursday, May 6 from 10:30am to 11:30am
Join JFS Wellness Coordinator Mary Jean Arreola and Village Membership Director Tina Serota to discover ways to boost your wellness – mind, body and soul. Topics include: self-care, mindfulness, gratitude, meditation, resiliency and more. RSVP by April 30.
The Village Movie Society, Tuesday, May 11 from 10:30am to 11:30am
Join theater teacher and coach Louise Marshall Hacker and Village Membership Director Tina Serota for a discussion about the movie, Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal. You’ll learn the shocking true story about the largest college admissions scam in history. Watch from the comfort of your own home and plan to share your thoughts. The film is available on Netflix. RSVP by May 5.
Trivia Game Day, Thursday, May 13 from 4pm to 5pm
Test your knowledge and try to defeat the reigning trivia champion as you compete for the top prize. Topics include: science, geography, history, music, theater, movies and more. This program is free for Holocaust Survivors and Village Members. For non-members, the cost is $5. Must pre-pay and RSVP by May 6.
Memoir Workshop, Friday, May 14 from 10:30am to 12pm
Experience the thrill of capturing your life’s adventures, history and ancestry at a Memoir Workshop led by award-winning author and Drexel University Professor of Creative Writing and Publishing, Harriet Levin Millan. You need a laptop or pen/paper for the workshop. RSVP by May 10.
Comfort Cuisine: Healthy & Delicious
Tuesday, May 18 from 10:30am to 11:30am
Join Bernadette Getzler, healthy eating and gardening guru, as she takes participants on a food journey using farm fresh ingredients. You’ll learn how to cook your favorite recipes in new and inventive ways by taking existing ingredients and substituting healthier options. RSVP by May 12.
BINGO, Wednesday, May 19 from 1pm to 2pm
Join friends and neighbors for an afternoon of fun BINGO games and prizes with Louise Marshall Hacker. BINGO cards will be delivered to those who register in advance. This event is free for Holocaust Survivors and Village Members. For non-members, the cost is $5. RSVP by May 6.
Coffee Klatch, Thursday, May 20 from 10:30am to 11:30am
Insightful, animated and fast-paced conversation with friends and neighbors spanning “both sides of the aisle and the middle.” Share your thoughts on politics, technology, world events, the arts and more. This program is moderated by JFS Village Membership Director Tina Serota and JCC Program Director Josh Cutler. RSVP by May 17.
Unless otherwise noted, all programs are free for community members to participate. You must RSVP to participate in any program by contacting Tina Serota at 609.287.8872 or tserota@jfsatlantic.org. A Zoom link or call-in number for each program will be e-mailed or provided to you. Village by the Shore is a membership program for adults over the age of 50. The program provides Intergenerational Events, Transportation, Grocery Shopping and Delivery, Kosher Meals on Wheels and more.
Inviting Submissions for Events in Aging in South Jersey and Beyond
We invite organizations to submit their event information for inclusion in our monthly e-news no later than day 18 of each month for inclusion in the subsequent month’s Newsletter, which we anticipate e-mailing a few days before the beginning of each month. The E-News is also posted on SCOSA’s Website under the Newsletters/Press Releases tab. Click here to submit items that will be published on a space available basis. We reserve the right to reject items that are not consistent with SCOSA’s mission or deemed inappropriate for our audience. Please direct any questions to Trish Collins, Community Engagement Liaison, at patricia.collins@stockton.edu or by telephone (609) 652-4456.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS ON AGING
Ageism and Culture
La Verne Ford Wimberly, age 82, of Tulsa, OK, dresses up in colorful outfits for church each Sunday, even though she watches remotely from her living room, and then delights fellow parishioners by posting a selfie on Facebook after the service. "The whole point was to inspire people and make them feel good, so I'm happy that's working," Wimberly said. Full story at: The Washington Post (tiered subscription model) (3/31)
Some of the older adult programs offered by SCOSA are partially funded under Title III of the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended, through a grant by the Division of Intergenerational Services, Atlantic County, New Jersey. You may make voluntary donations to SCOSA. Such donations are not a fee and are not required. Any donations received will be used to develop and operate future programs. If you wish to donate directly to SCOSA please make your checks payable to SCOSA and send them to:
SCOSA/SOBL, Stockton University, 101 Vera King Farris Drive, Galloway, NJ 08205-9441.
Quick Links to Stockton Programs and Facilities:
Arts & Humanities on Facebook and on Youtube, Performing Arts Center, Holocaust Resource Center, Art Gallery, Veteran Affairs, BayAtlanticSymphony.org, Carnegie Center, Atlantic City, Manahawkin Instructional Site, Kramer Hall, Hammonton, Anne Azeez Hall, Woodbine, The Noyes Museum of Art
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