Community Connections
We value connections to the community that produce impact. And we’re always looking for partnerships that will meet our mission and serve as a touchpoint to the community.
Community Connections and Partnerships
The Oxford Community
We seek to be engaged in our local community. One way we’ve done that is by partnering with several community organizations who are working to make the City of Oxford an even better place to age. Our students and staff helped the City of Oxford, Oxford Seniors, and the Oxford Village Group determine what city residents’ preferences are related to housing for older adults. In designing and administering a survey to local residents, we hope the information gleaned will be helpful in making Oxford a great place for older adults to live.
Opening Minds through Art
One of our farthest reaching connections to the community is our Opening Minds through Art (OMA) program. OMA is an intergenerational visual art program for people with dementia that pairs undergraduate and community volunteers with elders who have dementia. Each year, we partner with a growing number of care facilities in the surrounding communities and throughout North America to offer this one-on-one program. Hundreds of undergraduate and community volunteers are partnered with older adults with dementia to empower the older adults in creative and artistic expression. The relationships forged through this program have lasting positive impact on the volunteers and the older adults. It's truly a win-win situation.