Editor’s Note: In the spirit of our March 2019 celebration and reunion focus – Pilot Programs and Academic Relationships – we’d like to introduce you to Joy’s House University, an exciting new initiative meant to further engage our Guests and enrich their time at Joy’s House. 

Pilot programs are exciting, a little bit of the unknown, have the ability to stretch your creative muscles, provide new opportunities, and give a new appreciation for the talent that surrounds an organization. Joy’s House has launched a pilot program called Joy’s House University. It has been developed to be an addition to the activities already offered daily to our Guests. JHU is designed to provide opportunities for our Guests to engage and participate in continuing education classes. Classes for Guests are held weekly basis and include in-person discussions, video learning and hands-on demonstrations. These classes will include a wide range of topics for the year. Each month is covering a different and broad topic. One month we are diving into the subject of storytelling, another month we will be exploring the topic of social justice and then another month we will be learning about animals. JHU strives to give our Guests an opportunity to engage in adult education.

The excitement is evident in the Guests, staff and the people who are donating their time. Guests are making statements like “I have always wanted to try floral arranging and now I was given the chance.” JH University is the perfect example of a pilot program because we are willing to give everything a try; it is how we will learn and improve on the programming we offer. Already, we are seeing that having a visual or tactile display helps with the class. There is a definite stretch to the creative muscles. I know that I have asked “Do we have a contact with a background in History or do we have a contact to do a class on travel and culture?” The beautiful thing about Joy’s House is that we don’t have to go too far away from our organization to find people to fill those roles and who are willing to donate their time and talent. It will be exciting to see where JH University grows and how it impacts our Guests!

~Leah Jones, Family Care Manager

Do you have a special talent you’d like to bring to Joy’s House University? We are currently looking for activities/volunteers in the following areas: storytelling, mixology, health and wellness, fashion, and architecture. Please email Leah Jones, Family Care Manager, for more information on how you can get involved.