$5,000 grant allows Pelham seniors to share stories with youth during eight-month project

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 11, 2019

Pelham, ON – A $5,000 grant from the Niagara Community Foundation to the Town of Pelham may very well turn out to be priceless.

Funding SAY IT! On Stage, the grant affords teens and elders the opportunity to strengthen connections and enter into creative collaboration. The project runs for eight months, starting with its launch on Friday, June 14, at the seniors open house hosted at the Meridian Community Centre.

"The Niagara Community Foundation is proud to support such a unique and diverse arts initiative such as SAY IT!,” said Bryan Rose, executive director of the Niagara Community Foundation. “A project of this nature brings people together, fosters collaboration and galvanizes vital local relationships in the Town of Pelham. For the Foundation, it also covers off a number of key sectors we are keen to provide funding for including the arts, culture, the indigenous community, seniors and the youth

Through eight weeks of intergenerational conversation circles, senior participants will share anecdotes and experiences from their lives; these stories provide the foundation for an original stage play produced and performed by both youth and senior participants.

SAY IT! – which stands for Seniors and Youth Intergeneration Theatre – seeks to showcase the broad range of talents and passions individuals bring to the project: drama, music, dance, visual arts, crafts, trades.

“We want to bring the community together in a way that might seem an unexpected form of interaction, especially when collaborating,” said Jodi Hendriks, culture and community enhancement programmer. “We’re diverse, and not just in age – this project will be enriched by an Indigenous presence and storytelling approach, and aims to reflect the cultural heritage of each participant.”

The grant, together with in-kind donations from the Town of Pelham, E.L. Crossley High School, and community volunteers, fund this exciting creative process, culminating in the performance of an original dramatic production in December, 2019.

For anyone interested in getting involved in the project, information on participating and registration is available at www.pelham.ca/sayitonstage.

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For more information, please contact:
Marc MacDonald
Communications & Public Relations Specialist
905-892-2607 x309
mmacdonald@pelham.ca