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Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Valuing a Veteran


Some people seem to believe that senior citizens are frail or hard-of-hearing or have trouble communicating, but as I have found with every visit we make, that’s not true. At a performance, I met a beautiful woman, who had served in the army during WWII. She is 96 years old, but will turn 97 soon. She explained that after her service, she continued to keep an active lifestyle: she regularly goes for walks, keeps up with the news, and votes in every election. She says that she is concerned with the direction that American politics are headed in, with all these wars overseas and economic hardship here at home. She says she’s not sure what the future will hold. I reassured her that while there are a lot of problems in our government and society, our generation is going to fix them, and I sincerely believe that we will--she and other WWII veterans fought some of the greatest evils in human history so that we could have basic freedoms and liberty, so it’s the least we can do. But we can also repay her and other senior citizens more directly, by casting aside stereotypes and preconceptions and just taking the time to meet and interact with them, like they're normal people. Because they are normal people. At Vintage Voices, this is what we do!

-Naeem Alam




Thursday, April 13, 2017

Listening to life stories


I didn't have a specific story or encounter with a senior citizen during our visits to the senior homes. However, I have noticed that when talking to different seniors I felt like I was reading a different book each time. Books filled with adventures, love stories, challenges that were overcome, and reflections on life. Each person had their own stories and wisdom. One senior citizen said she did not like listening to Hound Dog by Elvis Presley. You see, her husband was from Memphis, Tennessee, and she and her husband were about to buy a beautiful house property. However, Elvis Presley beat them to it! Another women talked about the love of her life, her husband, who she had been married to for 25+ years. She told me that the secret to a long, happy marriage is that (1) You have to be crazy in love with the person and (2) You have to be open-minded and not one-sided thinking. I love listening to their stories and I love hearing their wisdom. They have lived life and I am hoping that I learn from them and apply such knowledge to my life.

-Crystal E.


Tuesday, April 4, 2017

The story of how unlikely things do happen


At our performance this weekend, after we had finished singing I went around to talk to some of the residents who had just heard us sing. Usually after the performances, I’m a bit shy to go around and talk with people mainly because I’m not sure if they want to be bothered talking after sitting for half an hour to forty five minutes watching us sing. But I reassured myself that it they would find it just as interesting as I would once we start talking. Looking around the room I spotted a woman who hadn’t talked to any the performers and sat down and introduced myself. As we began talking about the performance I asked her questions such as “What was your favorite song” and whether the songs brought any certain memories back from her childhood. 

After formalities, I asked her a little about herself. Being a college student, I was curious about how real people got careers versus what you might hear about the penultimate college student getting a huge job right after they graduated. She told me that she had gone to community college but moved back to her parent’s house afterwards to find a job. While working at a grocery store nearby, she randomly bumped into a federal employee who was currently working at the Air Force. As she told me, seemingly from out of the blue, he said she should try to apply for the position of secretary in his department because he thought that she could fit well in the department he was working in currently. So she did and she got the job! The main takeaway I found reassuring from this story was that as long as you keep on setting yourself up to obtain these opportunities, they will keep appearing.

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Spreading joy, one vintage song at a time

Take a stroll down memory lane as we share joyous, magical moments with residents of assisted living and skilled nursing communities. Vintage Voices sings at these communities and donates iPods with nostalgic music, and here are the reactions - in addition to the residents reminiscing their favorite memories, sparked by their favorite music!


Want to help spread the joy and magic? Check out our GoFundMe: http://gofundme.com/vvipods2017

Thanks for your support in spreading joy, one vintage song at a time!

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Sock Hops and Movies in the 70s

There was a lady at our first performance who told us about life back when they were kids, in the 70s. I asked what they did for fun. She said sometimes they would go see movies. They would also spend a lot of time talking on the phone, and she remembers her mom scolding her, “I don’t know how you girls have so much to talk about!” And also, every Friday, their high school would hold a “sock hop”, a dance, in the gymnasium. They called it a sock hop because they made the kids take their shoes off, so they wouldn’t damage the floor of the gym with all that dancing. She also said that, sometimes, for fun, they would go drag-racing on a nearby highway that was under construction. I don’t know how they got in, but they did!




Stay tuned for more updates and stories from performances!

Monday, February 27, 2017

Welcome and About Us


Welcome, and thanks for your interest in The Vintage Voice! This is a blog for Vintage Voices, a student organization at the University of Maryland that spreads joy to the elderly, one vintage song at a time. We perform sing-along shows of nostalgic music at assisted living and skilled nursing communities.

We'll use this blog as a space to share our voices and experiences, updates about the group, music tips, tips for interacting with the aging population, and stories and wisdom from the residents of these communities. Each post will be authored by one of our very own Vintage Voices members.



Inspired by my grandparents and their love for 30's & 40's music as well as visitors, I founded Vintage Voices at my high school as part of a Girl Scout project in 2012. Since then, the idea has taken off and turned into something that brings joy to a lot of people. In memory and honor of my grandparents, I brought Vintage Voices to the University of Maryland, starting another chapter in Spring 2015. It's been incredibly rewarding watching this group grow in size as well as in our goals, abilities, and accomplishments in bringing joy to the residents.

In the two years we've been on campus, we've expanded our goals from just performing for the residents to also include engaging with the residents through conversation before and after performances, donating music equipment to the communities to create a long-term positive impact, conducting outcome measurement research to evaluate the effectiveness of our efforts, and advocating for the aging population and quality of life in healthcare around campus. I look forward to seeing the incredible things this group will do in the years to come!

Stay tuned for more blog posts, as well as updates through our websiteFacebookTwitterInstagram, and Youtube channel. Feel free to comment with ideas for posts, or contact us through Facebook with any questions or to book a performance. Thanks for reading!

-Becky Goodridge