Who are we?
Morningside Gardens Camera Club started more than 30 years ago by residents living in a large cooperative complex in Manhattan. Members of the Club included those who also worked in the surrounding community, including faculty from Teachers College, Columbia University. Chris Pawelski as a resident, avid photography buff and TC faculty member started the Children's Photo Workshop 5 years ago with a fellow neighbor and graduate students, all volunteers, as a way to interest children in photography and their surrounding community. It was also a way to explore the many ways photography could enhance educational experiences on many levels. The Program had occurred on weekends with local children, expanded to a Friday afternoon in-school activity in 2009-2010 with 3 local schools, including children with disabilities...and in 2010, established a "pilot project" with the Seniors participating in the Memory Tree Program, including the 4th and 5th graders of a local school. In 2011 Pawelski added more collaborators to this idea - expanding content and participants across many age groups and a new theme of GOING GREEN! In all instances the Program has been embraced and enthusiastically expanded beyond initial dreams!
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Morningside Retirement and Health Services, Inc.(MRHS) serves elderly residents of Morningside Gardens, a 980 unit, multi-racial, middle income housing development in West Harlem. It consists of six high-rise buildings and approximately 1,700 residents. More than 50% of the households include a resident over the age of 60. Many of the older residents have lived in the Gardens since it opened for occupancy in 1957 and have "aged in place." As a result, the complex has become what is known as a "NORC"--a Naturally Occurring Retirement Community--with a large population of elderly people with special needs. The mission of MRHS is twofold. We aim to: HELP frail and at-risk elderly residents of Morningside Gardens remain in their own homes comfortably, safely, and with as much independence as possible for as long as they can; and to PROVIDE programs which promote health and opportunities for education, socialization and recreation for all older residents of Morningside Gardens, with particular attention to the special needs of the infirm, homebound, and isolated.
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The Memory Tree is New York City's first program devoted to people with mild memory loss, and their family and caregivers. We are driven by two guiding principles: Memory loss affects everyone in a family, not just the person who is having trouble remembering. That is why we developed this program, creating a unique place for both caregivers as well as people with memory loss. The best way to fight the aging process - including the loss of memory - is through mental and physical fitness. We provide programs designed to keep the body and brain challenged. The Memory Tree is a project of the Early Alzheimer's Foundation Inc., a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) foundation.
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The Center for Food & Environment, housed at Teachers College Columbia University, is a leading research and education center in the area of food and nutrition education, research, and policy change. Our world-renowned faculty members engage in activities that address some of the most pressing concerns related to personal health and its social and environmental determinants. We translate our work into educational materials and outreach to empower individuals, schools, and communities to act on interrelated social problems from childhood obesity to food system sustainability.