Joy & Action

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Come join us for their patriotic program! Songstress Maryann Price will sing a few numbers accompanied by James at the piano and the fantastic resident bell ringers. Maryann is an inductee of the Texas Music Hall of Fame, a seasoned professional recording artist and entertainer. It will be a half hour full of surprises and spirit!

They titled their program “Coming Home” since it has been years since bellringers at Heartland have performed for the public. It was powerful and wonderful. The bellringers were proud, the families had tears, and a good time was had by all. They showed they really can perform. There was a Surrey with a participant in a wheel chair, a baseball player for the song “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”, a bellringer with an umbrella pushed by the social worker shoe name is Kari Showers with a flower costume for “April Showers” and a bellringer costumed as the Statue of Liberty for “America the Beautiful”. See the pictures below on Flicker stream. Merry and Marcette, the activity directors, did a superior job working on this program. We are so PROUD of all of them!

Read what Vickie said about the performance.

May 11, 2011 at 6:30 p.m.

Come join us for a half hour of joy and action! There will be lots of wonderful music, costumes, and bellringers making their musical debut! (Word is out that there may be a Surrey!)

Hello Linda!

Our Holy Rosary Healthcare “Cowtown Ringers” are still ringing away and loving every minute of it. The residents performed a couple of tunes in our hospital’s main lobby this past Christmas season and even brought some people to tears—the residents were awesome!

Our residents want to start a Birthday Gram program but we’re having a difficult time finding any appropriate recorded music for them to ring to.
Thanks so much,
Tami Young, Activities Director

YouTube – More Rocking in Round Rock!.

YouTube – Elderhaven Adult Day of Williamson County.

Around the first of November we received a call from Tricia who works at  Sunrise Senior Living home in Lawrenceville, Georgia.  She wanted to find out more about our program and had not attended one of our workshops or presentations.  We talked, shared, rang bells on the phone and she said she was ready to try it. The following are several emails we received from her.

“I held a rehearsal yesterday with a Christmas CD I found at Sunrise. It went very well. The marketing director was actually moved to tears when she heard us play. She is as excited as I am about our upcoming performances and
offered to purchase shirts for our bell ringers. The residents suggested “Bells of Sunrise” as our group name. They had a ball and caught on quickly. They can’t wait until the next rehearsal.
Thanks for your help and support.
Tricia

Hi Linda,
Yes, I received the bells today and the CD’s a couple of days ago. The residents reminded ME that rehearsal was today. They were actually waiting for me when I got back from lunch!! They all had smiles on their faces and one resident said she could stay out here all night and ring her bells. Haha…So much fun. I think I might have to have 2 rehearsals per week they enjoy it so much.
Thanks so much.
Tricia

My 1st “performance” by our bell ringers went well. We performed for the residents and staff. They all thought they were just wonderful. I will ask if I can send you pics. I am sure the bell ringers wouldn’t mind.

I start practice tomorrow using the In The Garden CD. Our next performance will be in the Spring and hopefully include family members. I am also adding residents from our other 2 neighborhoods. I will keep you posted on how that goes. The only other “activity” that gets this much excitement is bingo! Ha ha. They just love their bells!”

Tricia really is a special gal. She learned, taught and held a performance in less than a month in her assisted living home! Congratulation to Tricia and the “Bells of Sunrise”!

Red Bell = right hand
Blue bell = left hand

The residents mirror you, so your red bell is in your left hand and the blue is in your tight. Listen to the CDs over and over again so you will know when the music changes and stops. Plan shows – use a variety of costumes and props so that the residents can be more than just themselves. Name you bell ringing group – tap or stomp your feet, wiggle for crying out loud and never, never, never forget to SMILE! Be noisy, have fun, let your hair down – you’ll be surprised what their response will be. Now go out there and take on the day – be positive, be happy, be an awesome activity director with an awesome program that your peers will just wish they could match!!!

You can only succeed if you trying – Failure is the only option of not taking a chance. I know you can – You must at least think you can!!!

Iris Bowden ACC
Faculty Adjunt St. Phillips College
San Antonio, Texas

We have been busy presenting at conventions in New Jersey, New York, Indiana, Montana, South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas, New Mexico, Florida, and more. We receive wonderful emails from Activity Directors who have implemented this program in their home or senior center. It fills our hearts to hear about each new group — even from as far away as Alaska!

Joy & Action went international with orders from fifteen Holiday Corporation Homes in Canada! When we began this program I dreamed of having Joy & Action Bell Ringers all over the world, and we have made big start!

I have always known that Activity Directors were very special people but meeting the hundreds of AD’s we have met over the last three years validated my thoughts. YOU ALL ARE GREAT! Your positive, caring, energy continues to ring in my heart, and I admire you and your work. I have learned so much from you and so enjoy your stories. (One girl in Indiana waited patiently for time alone with me to share a story about a male resident, how much he had improved, and how excited she was to hurry home and encourage HIM to be the bell ringer director. This is just one of the many times that will always remain in my heart.) Some of you really challenged me when we role played… That was great fun.

James loved playing with and for you for our presentations and for your special events. I do believe he is an AD in his heart! Hopefully, we will have new CD’s in 2011! We will let you know when they are ready so keep checking out this site.

Also, thanks to my daughter Beth who does our web site.

Send us an email and/or pictures and let us know what is going on with your groups.

Love you ALL,
Linda