Music for Life takes centre stage at Abrigo AGM

Community support strong for this year’s event

On Thursday, September 28th the Abrigo Centre held it’s Annual General Meeting for the first time at its current 1645 Dufferin Street location. The previous six years, the event took place at other locations in the Davenport community because of accessibility issues on-site.

This year, taking the spotlight was a special presentation after the AGM on Abrigo’s Music for Life program. Music for Life grew out of a grant from the Ontario Ministry of Seniors Affairs that created a 20+ member choir from Abrigo’s Life and Hope seniors group and is in the process of teaching a number of those same individuals how to play a musical instrument.

As in previous years, Abrigo’s Chair Humberto Carolo provided his report to the community, minutes from last year’s event were approved, the last fiscal year’s audited financial report was presented and new board members were elected. Abrigo is happy to welcome three new members this year; Lena Barreto, Cidalia Faria and Kathleen Teixeira.

Holding the AGM on-site at Abrigo was made possible because of the installation of a new LULA elevator in the building. Abrigo clients waited a number of years for the elevator and the funding for it came through generous community donations from, among many, LiUNA Local 183 and the Ontario Trillium Foundation. With the elevator in place there was a large turnout for the event as the second floor meeting hall was filled with more than 70 guests in attendance.

The highlight of the night was clearly the presentation on the Music for Life program. Abrigo Counsellor Marilia dos Santos provided some background information on Abrigo’s seniors program and how Music for Life started. Special guest, renowned musician Hernani Raposo, provided insights on how music makes individuals feel and how it can make a positive impact on memory for seniors. Music for Life program leader Nuno Miller, a musician and host on Camoes Radio, described his experiences leading the group and the growth he has seen from them over the last four months. Abrigo client and Music for Life participant Isabel Pereira spoke about how being in the group has changed her life.

The evening wrapped up with two wonderful performances from the group.

Thank you to all who made the effort to come to this year’s event.