Musical Memories Café (MMC) has announced its recognition by ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center as an Innovative and Exemplary Respite Program for three years. As one of only four organizations to receive this recognition in the US, MMC was praised for effectively “supporting multiple generations of caregivers and family, including extended families, of persons with Alzheimer’s and other dementias.”
Recognition includes an honorarium, usage of the ARCH logo and registration, travel and hotel costs to attend the National Lifespan Respite Conference in Albany, NY, May 21-23, 2024. Musical Memories Café Executive Director Carolyn Panzica was selected to present at this conference on “Musical Memories Cafe: Innovation, Impact, Replication, and Sustainability.”
In 2014, founders Carolyn and Bill Panzica launched Memory Cafe at the West Falls Center for the Arts. By applying their business and franchising know-how and experience as both caregiver and nonprofit managers, the West Falls Memory Cafe quickly became a thriving nonprofit program. From this success, Carolyn and Bill created Musical Memories Cafe to empower other nonprofits in WNY and beyond.
Musical Memories Café (MMC) offers a beautiful meal and musical entertainment created especially for caregivers and their loved ones with Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia. They enrich lives by collaborating, inspiring, and educating through music and making an unforgettable experience available to those who truly need it but may not have access. West Falls Performing Arts Center programs include: 1. Musical Memories Café – West Falls Center, 2. Harmonica, ukulele, and guitar lessons for Military Veterans and their families, and 3. Kids Jam for children and adolescents to learn from and play along with professional musicians.
Carolyn Panzica said, “We hope this recognition will encourage other nonprofits to consider offering a Musical Memories Café in their community. We have seen how this transcendent experience enriches the lives of people with Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia and their caregivers. More communities need respite programs that offer in-person, loving companionship, a therapeutic approach backed by research, and a lasting community (virtual and in-person) with others facing similar challenges.”
ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center is a national organization charged with “assisting and promoting the development of quality respite and crisis care programs in the United States.”
Your shared respite model seems especially effective in supporting multiple generations of caregivers and family, including extended Musical Memories Café Recognition families, of persons with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. The strong evaluation you conduct uses psychometrically sound measurement tools to assess caregiver intensity and caregiver needs and to show positive outcomes for caregivers. Notably, you also use data in a formative way to guide referrals to other needed services and to tailor day-to-day services according to the needs of individual care recipients and their families.
Jill Kagan, Director of the ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center.
To learn more about Musical Memories Café, visit here.
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