Town Square Sarasota provides creative outlet for seniors

SARASOTA, Fla. - Seniors who walk into Town Square Sarasota are greeted by reminders of the past.

"We are a 50s-themed adult day care center," said Center Director Jill Grennell. "Most of the folks here, that's their formative years, that's when they were growing up."

Triggering those memories is important, because many of those at Town Square suffer from Alzheimer's Disease or dementia.

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The center has activities to stir their creative juices, and one of them includes making greeting cards.

"One of our members was doing a water color project, and he handed me his piece of art and said, ‘Can you throw this away for me? Because it belongs in the garbage.’ And, I took a look at the picture, and I saw absolute beauty. That kind of idea sprung about maybe we could make cards," said Grennell.

And they are now selling these cards for a cause. They are raising money for the Alzheimer's Association. 

"We just started, we started selling probably back in April. We raised about a little over $1,000," said Grennell.

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But, the pride and achievement is priceless.

"We're finding their families are surprised at the talents that are coming through," said Grennell. "It's encouraging to them. Art therapy is a really important way of expression when people are no longer to be able to express themselves. So it's just a win-win situation."

The cards can be purchased at Town Square Sarasota. For more information about Town Square Sarasota, click here.