Grant to fund museum media and memoir writing classes for those 55 and older

The Union County Heritage Museum has received a grant from Aroha Philanthropies for a Virtual Programming Pilot Program for the 55 and above.  The two virtual classes for Lifelong Learning including Memoir Writing and Mixed Media/Collage are offered.  The classes are free to the 55 and over and are available on a first come, first served basis.

The art supplies for the classes will be provided, said Museum Director Jill Smith.  The requirements to take the class are that participants have access to a computer/screen where they can watch and participate in the classes.  The classes will be live and will be interactive.  The classes will be five sessions each. Participants are expected to complete the series of classes.

“We are excited to be able to offer these classes to this demographic, who might not want to leave their homes, but who also want and need to stay connected.  We hope that this will be helpful to our community, and we deeply appreciate all that Aroha Philanthropies has done to fund this and earlier classes,” Smith said.

The virtual classes will be available through an emailed invitation to a Zoom meeting. Once the email is opened by participants, they can click on the link and join the meeting.  Their devices will need to be equipped with a camera and speakers so that they can fully participate. “We will offer assistance to those who might be intimidated by taking a virtual class,” she said.

Collage/ Mixed Media will begin Aug. 6 at 10 a.m. and will be taught by teaching artist Lee Ann Thompson.  The schedule for the five sessions of the class is Aug. 6, 7, 10, 11 and 12, at 10 a.m. each day. The classes will last approximately one hour and there will be several projects accomplished for participants to learn several techniques in this skill building class.

The Memoir Writing Class will be taught by Dr. Elizabeth Crews, and it, too, will be a virtual class.  If you have ever wanted to write your own story, this is the time to get started. The class, which is free to the 55 and above, will be a skill building class for participants to learn several techniques of storytelling. Date for this class soon to be announced. You can sign up now. To sign up for these classes call the museum at 662-538-0014 or email uchm@ucheritagemuseum.com.

Aroha Philanthropies funded the current classes of pottery and recent classes of printmaking at the Museum Art House. The Minnesota-based charity funded 20 grants nationwide in 2019-20 for arts for the 55 and above.