Organization: Senior Resources

Program: Expanding healthy living options for aging communities

Report: The funds received from the Freeborn County Communities Foundation will be used to support expanded options for the aging community through the REACH program and other healthy living learning opportunities for seniors seeking health and independence as they age.

Organization: Albert Lea Art Center

Program: RESPECT:  Recognizing ethnic similarities in people who embrace creativity.

Report: Thanks in part to grant funding, The Albert Lea Art Center is able to introduce a new project, RESPECT: Recognizing ethnic similarities in people who embrace creativity.

The Art Center plans to further broaden its outreach to include newcomers to the area through the display and promotion of the arts, and to expand the Art Center’s community related events to showcase different traditions, music, storytelling and art. The Art Center’s goals are inclusivity, collaboration, enrichment, education and sharing of the arts — a universal language.

According to a press release, creativity itself is an essential part of any human experience around the world. It has been shown that creativity can increase social harmony, improve mood and reduce personal stress.

By continuing to build new relationships with the immigrant population, the Albert Lea Art Center hopes to show that similarities among varied populations exist and a commonality of thoughts, ideas, stories and music demonstrate that we are all one community and that art can bring different communities together by recognizing the similarities and commonalities of people who embrace creativity in their daily lives, the release states.

The Art Center has recently partnered with Albert Lea Select Foods to bring to the community an exhibit called “Creating Community.” The company is also interested in sharing the creative talents of all its employees and that ethnic backgrounds provide similar, yet different, ways to do that sharing. The exhibit will include wood sculpture, paintings, drawings and clothing styles. Albert Lea Select Foods has a diverse workforce of employees from a variety of countries around the world, according to the release.

The “Creating Community” exhibit will run from Oct. 14 through Nov. 13 at The Albert Lea Art Center.