ViM Goes International
By By Stan and Susan Kriegel | Participants | Voices in Motion
Our involvement with Voices in Motion is purely by chance. Deciding that remote learning might offer opportunities for singing, I googled choirs and discovered ViM. Researching their focus, I discovered connections between the cognitively impaired, their caretakers, the University of Victoria, the community, and one of our favorite cities, Victoria B.C. The tremendous bonus is being led by Rick and Erica and interacting with all of the welcoming members of ViM.
When I mention welcoming, I’m referencing the fact that we live on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. We’ve loved boating in Canadian waters and visiting Victoria for Symphony Splash, and so were delighted to meet, even remotely, some folks with whom we have much in common.
The ViM activities have become our weekly focus. Stan loves music (largely from the 50’s and 60’s) but really can’t carry a tune and asks me daily if this is a “Voices” day. Monday we do the Facebook Sing-along; Tuesday is the caregivers’ meeting, Wednesday is rehearsal for the concert, sometime after COVID; Thursday is our “other things” day; Friday (bi-weekly) we have Happy Hour with all sorts of fun activities and Saturday (monthly) we watch Getting to Know You interviews with ViM members.
We are excited to learn how singing has benefited the cognitively impaired and firmly believe there is a positive connection. For me, being part of the caregiving group has given me strategies and hope while on the dementia journey.
So, thanks to everyone for welcoming a couple of Yanks!