Wendy Lees is putting her creative side to good use to help seniors in the East Village.
The Golden Age Club closed recently and some were concerned the visual arts program for seniors was doomed.
Lees was determined to keep it going so she began working with the Kerby Centre and together they found space in the Salvation Army Centre of Hope.
She is passionate about the value of this program.
“It provides a wonderful social outlet,” said Lees. “It’s a great way for the seniors to meet other people in their community.”
Some seniors have told her they never knew they had an artistic side until they started taking her classes.
“I hear many stories of seniors when they were young, who weren't allowed to create freely, or their art teacher said "oh no that's not, you know, that's not how you draw a tree,” Lees explains.
As a result, her classes now include carving, sketching, painting and writing.
Luanne Whitmarsh is the CEO of the Kerby Centre and she is delighted they could help Wendy keep this program going.
“It’s just magical,” said Whitmarsh. “You give people an outlet of creativity, an ability to express themselves in all kinds of different ways, with art, with reading with whittling, with making wands, just by having that sense of community.”
For all she does to give seniors the ability to express themselves, Wendy Lees is this week’s Inspiring Albertan.
(With files from Darrel Janz)
