Want your grandparents to live longer? Spend more time with them.
A 1999 study led by associate professor Thomas Glass at the Harvard School of Public Health followed more than 2,000 seniors over a 13-year period to investigate the effect, if any, of social activities on life expectancy. His study found that “social and productive activities that involve little or no enhancement of physical fitness lower the risk of all causes of death as much as exercise does."
On the darker side of that same coin, the National Seniors’ Council of Canada reported last year that seniors experiencing social isolation were four-to-five times more likely to end up in hospital. They also found alarming associations between social isolation, depression and suicide.
Seniors aren’t the only ones who fare better with a strong social support network; the same goes for all of us. In order to ensure long-term health for our society as a whole, then, it’s important to encourage interaction between seniors and the wider community.
Which is precisely what the minds behind Timeless Talent intend to do.
Sauder students Aprilando Suryokusumo, Jenny Peng, Betty Li and João Victor Lima have teamed up with the South Granville Seniors Centre to put on a talent show that will have seniors and UBC students sharing a stage.
The talent show, which originated as an assignment for a project management class, has evolved into so much more. Both Suryokusumo and Lima have personally witnessed the detrimental effects of isolation on the seniors in their lives.
“Once they retired, they just stopped. They didn’t know what to do … they went into depression,” said Lima, of his elderly family members’ declining health. Suryokusumo nods quietly.
It’s easy to see why these two would jump at the opportunity to showcase the multi-generational talents that exist in the community.
“They have this singing group, they’re awesome,” said Suryokusumo, of the informal choir that meets every Monday at the centre. He is still buzzing about their performance last week, and is already looking forward to watching their next session. This particular group is not directly involved with the talent show, but for Suryokusumo, that’s beside the point. “We’re starting to make friends.”
And their new friends are talented indeed. Performers from the seniors centre include a comedian, a pianist, a dancer and a poet, among others.
Joining them on stage from UBC will be dancers from K-Wave, the Korean entertainment club, members of the Magicians and Illusionists Association and a bellydancer. Lima’s connections with the Judo club on campus means that spectators can also expect a martial arts performance.
The show is still a few weeks away, and already the Timeless Talent team is seeing positive effects of their project -- the bellydancer that they recruited is also an artist, who now hopes to obtain a community grant in order to host a four-month series of painting classes at the South Granville Seniors Centre.
Creating opportunities for community engagement is not about being an expert at event planning, or anything else, Lima said, but rather “having the drive and the will to get together and form relationships.”
Suryokusumo agrees. “Whether you’re two years old or 90 years old, everybody has a talent to share.” And if sharing those talents means living longer and better, then this event may just be the ultimate multitask.
Timeless Talent will be held at the South Granville Seniors Centre on March 21st, from 2 p.m. -4 p.m. Tickets are $5 for seniors, $7 for the public (including students). For tickets and information, contact (604) 732-0812.