Jann Arden believes in Room 217’s simple mission: that music is beneficial to health care.
That’s why she, alongside Gavin Crawford, Laila Biali, the Venuti String Quartet, Kenneth Welsh, Murray McLauchlan, and Denise Donlon will come together this Thursday, April 25th with Honourary Chair Margaret McCain for Voices That Care, an Intimate Musical Evening to Benefit Room 217 Foundation.
Proceeds from this year’s event will support a major element Room 217’s initiatives through ‘What a Difference a Day Makes,’ the Foundation’s donor-driven program that brings the Pathways Singing Program to adult day programs across Canada.
Adult day programs assist those living with dementia and other health conditions by empowering them to live at home and be participating members of their communities for as long as possible. Proven to reduce boredom and boost social cohesion, the programs also provide critical mental and emotional support for those navigating the condition.
For those living with dementia, singing tops the list of beneficial music-making because of its ease to be done within a group. It provides a point of human contact, and enhances emotional connection and intimacy, and links those living with dementia to prior personal experiences.
Room 217 is a music-based health arts organization and social enterprise providing accessible approaches to health and well-being through a format they call ‘music care.’ Since 2005, their team of music educators, music therapists, music and health researchers, community musicians and artists have been helping caregivers integrate music into their regular practice.
Room 217 and ‘music care’ enables caregivers to humanize care through the art of song and sound, offer hope and comfort through therapeutic and research informed products, provide skills and training for integrating music into care, and to support innovative research related to the subject.
Who: Jann Arden, Gavin Crawford, Laila Biali, the Venuti String Quartet, Kenneth Welsh, Murray McLauchlan, Denise Donlon, and Honourary Chair Margaret McCain
What: Voices That Care, An Intimate Musical Evening to Benefit Room 217 Foundation, an organization dedicated to using music to improve the quality of life and care for Canadians in complex-care or life-threatening circumstances.
When: Thursday, April 25th, 2019. 7pm Pre-concert cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception. 8pm performance.
Where: The Glenn Gould Studio, 250 Front St West, Toronto
How: Tickets are $175 for reserved seating. Accessible seating is available. A portion will be tax-receipted. Tickets are available by calling 905-852-2499 or online @ https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/voices-that-care-2019-tickets-52872178108
