October 29, 1995

Dear Colleague:

Young at Heart has now been bringing music to the elderly for over 10 years. Its collection of musicians, under the artistic direction of its founder, Sean Seman, has enriched and enlivened homes , retirement communities, and senior citizen centers in Santa Cruz and Santa Clara County. In the process, Young at Heart has won the enthusiastic support of its targeted population. It has also won support in the United States Senate, which agrees that the lives of older adults should be reopened to the stimulation of the arts. Now, Young at Heart seeks to expand its efforts further, enlarging its presence within its familiar territory in California, and staking new ground in locations on the East Coast. Young at Heart is on the threshold of emerging as a national charitable organization.

Even though psychologist have long known that routine, unvarying environments can dull the cognitive capacities of human beings, it is only relatively recently that this realization has sparked efforts to bring music to the lives of elderly Americans. Young at Heart can be proud that it has been in the vanguard of attempts to improve the health and well-being of the elderly through such environmental enrichment.

How does music improve the well-being of the elderly? First of all, music speaks to the deepest emotional parts of us. It has the capacity to stimulate as well as to calm, and is even used in some forms of therapy. Young at Heart improves upon this by bringing the music of former times to adults. The music reawakens personal and historical memories related to the era when it was popular, allowing our elderly citizens to actively reminisce in a healthy fashion. The reminiscing itself is a from of cognitive stimulation identified by psychological research as being critically important for the mental capacities of the elderly. At an even more basic level, people simply enjoy it. Can we put a price on bringing such increased well-being and enjoyment to those who have given so much to us?

One of the more amazing aspects of Young at Heart as a charitable organization is the amount of programming it produces under a rather limited budget. No other organization stages literally hundreds of shows annually at anywhere near a comparable cost. It is a lean, well-run organization with just one goal: to better the lives of elderly Americans through music. I strongly encourage you to support Young at Heart as it moves into its second decade of service to older adults.

Sincerely,

Robert J. Moretti, Ph.D.
Associate Clinical Professor