Creating the Good with AARP IL

A Florida man is making sure nothing stands in the way of the next musical maven. John Sweeny repairs violins and gives them away to aspiring musicians who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford it. And he does it all for free.

Jonathan and Sandy Miller co-founded the Good Memories Choir, a unique choir for people who suffer from memory loss and their care partners. They tell us what it takes to start a choir like this, how singing helps people with memory loss and how you can join a choir in your area.

Since 1989, Alivio Medical Center has been a pillar of the Hispanic community in Chicago, providing bilingual, low-cost health care to everyone who walks through its doors. They provide care for the mind, body and soul through popular art and dance programs for older adults, as well as affordable housing through their Casa Maravilla project. Esther Corpuz, CEO, and Sue Vega, Programs Manager, of Alivio Medical Center join us to share more about this inspiring community health resource.

Each year across the country, more than a billion birds die from flying into glass windows and structures. Annette Prince and Nora Lloyd of Chicago Bird Collision Monitors work every day with a large volunteer network to rescue birds in need across Illinois.

Making sure his father’s legacy lives on, Mike Latting from Pembroke Township, IL puts on a legendary rodeo steeped in family history and tradition and featuring Black cowboys and cowgirls.

Tzippora Rhodes and Charlie McShane from The Recyclery Collective, a unique educational bike shop in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, talk about empowering people of all ages to enjoy riding and fixing bikes.

One winter, Bob Zeni’s frustration with the bland tomatoes at the grocery store came to a head and he started growing tomatoes in his basement under grow lights. Many years, hundreds of varieties and thousands of tomato plants later, he is known locally as the “Chicago Tomato Man,” selling his famous plants and helping others grow their own delicious varieties at home.

Over the course of 7 years, photographer Andria Lo and writer Valerie Luu documented the fashion sense and stories of more than 100 older adults in Chinatowns across the US and in Canada. They join us on this week’s episode to talk about the project and some of their favorite subjects from Chicago’s Chinatown.

When he was a priest in Nigeria, John Ademola Adewoye traveled to the United States, where he realized that he could live freely and openly as a gay man – something that was not possible in his home country. When he was granted asylum in the US, he decided to leave the priesthood and help other persecuted LGBTQ+ people from around the world seek asylum and find housing in the US.

On this special Father’s Day episode, we talk to Yvette Moyo, co-founder of “Real Men Cook,” a Father’s Day event in Chicago started in 1990 to provide a positive family experience for African American men. We also catch up with Shemuel Sanders, who founded Shemilah’s Outreach Center in Decatur one year ago, after losing his daughter to gun violence.

In celebration of AAPI Heritage Month, we talk to Pat Matsumoto, who shares the story of her experience as the daughter of Japanese American immigrants – including her memories of the time her family lived in an internment camp in Arkansas – to her years growing her career in arts & culture in Chicago and to her “second career” in retirement serving as director and secretary of the board of the Japanese American Service Committee Housing Corporation. We also celebrate the life of Bernie Wong, a fearless champion for Asian Americans, and Asian American older adults in Illinois, who passed away earlier this month.

Shirley Webb is an 83-year-old national and world champion power lifter whose career in weightlifting began at 77, when her granddaughter convinced her to sign up for a membership at the local gym. Now, Webb inspires older adults like her to exercise, stay mobile and live long and healthy lives.

Across Illinois, organizations and volunteers alike have stepped up to help older adults get vaccinated. They’ve scheduled appointments, arranged rides and even lined up nurses to visit and vaccinate homebound residents in their homes. This episode features the efforts of two of those groups, Vaccine Buddies – a volunteer group of “good humans” from Naperville—and AgeSmart, a senior advocacy organization from the East St. Louis area.

Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, and Fritzie Fritzshall, President of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, emphasize the need to spread words of understanding and stop the spread of hate speech in today’s society.

Rochelle Crump is the president National Women Veterans United, which helps hundreds of female veterans live happy and healthy lives.

Colette Hawley of "Coco's Songs for Seniors" takes her show to new "heights" as she travels around Illinois performing at nursing homes and
retirement communities.

After losing his daughter to gun violence, Shemuel Sanders helps dozens of Decatur youth find purpose and plan for their futures.

Jacky Connelly founded Mrs. Jacky’s Solders 17 years ago to pack care packages for soldiers, just like her mom did for her dad when he was a sergeant in World War II.

Grammy-nominated composer Victor Pichardo has dedicated his life to preserving traditional Mexican music, including passing it down to the next generation of Mexican-American performers.

When the coronavirus pandemic led to a mask shortage in her hometown of Jerseyville, Illinois, Janice Arnold knew there had to be a way she could help – even if she didn’t know how to sew.

“Emergencies aren’t called emergencies because we’ve had time to prepare for them,” says Arnold, the founder of Angel Ministries. “I knew that if I got enough people involved, we could figure it out together.”

Arnold put out the call to her network of volunteers to come together and make masks for healthcare workers in Jerseyville. Much to her surprise, 200 volunteers offered to source materials and start producing masks.

Over time, as the community’s needs evolved to include more people, Angel Ministries began creating more sizes and styles – most recently for school children. In addition to the 12,000 masks the group has already made, the volunteers are now working to make five masks for each child in the school district – one for each day of the week.

“It’s so important that our children have a clean mask in a style they like,” she says. “That way, they feel comfortable and confident wearing them.” Janice Arnold has one piece of advice to anyone who thinks that a problem is too big for them to fix: “just start small.”

That’s exactly how she got on the path of helping people 20 years ago, work that she started part-time helping a few families around Christmas time while she worked a full-time job. Now, five years into retirement, she is able to continue helping families, but now full-time.

“Whether it’s a mom who was just evicted, or a family who needs help getting clothing or school supplies for their kids, we find a way to get it done,” she says. “Around town, I’m known as the lady who gets it done.’

For more information on how to become involved or how to support Arnold’s work through Angel Ministries, visit: www.Facebook.com/AngelMinistriesJC

And for more information on ways YOU can get involved in your local community visit aarp.org/nearyou or discover opportunities to give back nationwide by visiting Create the Good.

This week we have a very special guest who will speak about how hopping on a bike is not only good for your overall well-being, it’s also a great way to help make your community a more livable place. Deloris Lucas is known as “the bike lady” in the Riverdale neighborhood on Chicago’s far South Side and has been organizing a community bike ride for the past five years to bring awareness to the transportation needs where she grew up.

Hear Bob, Rosana and Deloris discuss the growing need for alternate transportation in Chicago's far south side, how Deloris has been influential in the opening of three new bike share stations in her neighborhood, and what she hopes others can learn from her experience. 

Today we have two very special guests who will talk about a real inspiring program that helps those with limited mobility gain more independence and gives them a boost of self-esteem. Peter Goldman is a co-founder of The Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing Program, which provides on-the-water sailing classes for the physically disabled in Chicago and Patrick LoDuca, who started out as a participant and is now an instructor.

Hear Bob and Rosanna discuss the inspiration behind the program, how it has caught on with people with disabilities of all kinds, and what they hope others can learn from their experience. 

Today we have two very special guests who will talk about a wonderful program that offers art workshops to older Latinos, especially those with Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, or dementia. It’s called La Brocha, which is Spanish for “The Paint Brush.” The workshops are held in Chicago’s Pilsen and Little Village neighborhoods, and participants and their loved ones work on an art program led by artists and art therapists.

Judith Rocha is an assistant professor at Northeastern University and Co-Founder of La Brocha, and Connie Saldivar is the caregiver of her husband, who’s a La Brocha participant.

Hear Bob and Rosanna discuss how the program started, how Connie and her husband have benefited from the classes, and what they hope others can learn from their experiences. 

In the inaugural episode of Creating the Good with AARP IL, hosts Bob Gallo and Rosanna Márquez sit down with Amy Morton, a restaurateur from Chicago who has seen her world change drastically in the wake of COVID-19.

Amy Morton grew up working alongside her father Arnie Morton, founder of Morton’s Steakhouse. She started her first restaurant, Mirador in Chicago’s Old Town back in the 1990s, and is currently the owner of Found Kitchen and Social House and The Barn Steakhouse in Evanston, as well as Stolp Island Social in Aurora. She is also a long-time supporter of “Connections for the Homeless,” a non-profit group bringing essential services to people facing homelessness and housing insecurity. During this coronavirus pandemic, Amy and the Found team have been cooking breakfast seven days a week for 200 people facing homelessness.

Hear Bob, Rosanna and Amy discuss how her community involvement came to be, what inspires her and how she hopes others can get involved during these uncertain times.