Arlen Hlusko performs at the 2015 Penn Memory Center Research Partner Thank You Breakfast.
Cellist Arlen Hlusko, a graduate of Curtis Institute and recent apprentice with the New York Philharmonic, will be performing at Penn Memory Center’s (PMC) monthly Memory Café August 5.
This program, held from 10:30 a.m. to noon each month at Christ Church Neighborhood House in Old City, is exclusively for people with memory problems, including Alzheimer’s disease, and their partners/families. Please RSVP by contacting Alison Lynn at alison.lynn@uphs.upenn.edu.
Memory Café recently secured six months of funding from Christ Church Neighborhood House to invite local artists to each month’s café.
Additionally, guests will have an improved “café experience” through a set of new café tables and entertainment options such as adult coloring books, said Christ Church Neighborhood House Program Director Abigail Guay. A wider selection of coffee and snacks — previously donated from Kitchen Gia — will be purchased from a variety of local vendors.
Christ Church Neighborhood House, which has donated space for the café since its inception in 2015, was built in 1915 to provide social services to the Old City community.
“We’re going through a strategic planning process right now, and part of what we are trying to do is reengage that mission by having a social justice lens,” Guay said. The Memory Café is one of the first steps in that direction, she said.
Memory Café was founded in 2015 to provide a safe, social space for Penn Memory Center patients and their caregivers.
“The challenges of living with memory loss can sever social connection at a time when it is needed the most,” said Felicia Greenfield, LCSW. “Memory Café gatherings are a way for people with memory loss and their companions to come together to make new friendships.”