During the first half of 2025, Modern Improvisational Music Appreciation (MIMA) provided music enrichment programs for the members of Blue Ridge Respite Enrichment Club (formerly the Nelson Enrichment Club) in Nellysford, VA. thanks to a grant awarded by NCCF in February.

The Blue Ridge Respite Enrichment Program (Blue Ridge REP) is a group respite program for individuals with mild to moderate memory loss and Parkinson’s disease.  The program also provides three-days-per-week respite for caregivers. 

Two MIMA Teaching Artists (TAs), Susan and Mecca, provided hour-long sessions once a week for two dozen Blue Ridge REP members.

The program delivered enriching musical experiences designed to promote self-expression, cognitive development, emotional regulation, physical activity, and positive social interactions. Early sessions served as an opportunity to learn about the specific interests, abilities, and needs of Blue Ridge REP members.

Challenges with recall limited the extent to which members could carry out improvisational music exercises that MIMA often uses in its programs.

Several members were hard of hearing, requiring Susan and Mecca to communicate with greater volume and energy than they did at the outset. Members showed a clear preference for singalongs, call and response, and more generally, activities that engage the whole body.  

Taking these lessons into account, Susan and Mecca filled the remainder of the program with a variety of activities that limited participation in members’ preferred modalities of engagement while introducing a wide range of musical genres and means of music-making.

The TAs performed country, folk, bluegrass, and traditional songs on piano and guitar while prompting members to sing along or in a call and response manner. They distributed different percussion instruments and guided members through melodic and rhythmic call and response exercises using the voice and those instruments. They brought in a speaker system, played members’ favorite songs and encouraged members to sing and dance along.

The program elicited consistently high levels of enthusiasm and participation. Feedback from Blue Ridge REP volunteers became more positive as the program unfolded and as we adapted to members’ needs and preferences. We plan to have Mecca and Susan back in the later summer or early fall to build on the progress of this program.

Click here to learn more about MIMA Music:  https://www.mimamusic.org/

NCCF has made grants to the Central Virginia Farm Workers Initiative(CVFWI) for five consecutive years. CVFWI is led by Vanessa Hale, a local advocate for migrant farm worker welfare. CVFWI seeks to empower farm workers to improve their quality of life by providing healthcare education and advocacy for their well-being.

COVID Vaccinations

Using the initial grant from Nelson County Community Fund, Vanessa started the Central Virginia Farm Workers Initiative (CVFWI) in response to COVID challenges affecting local growers and migrant farmworkers. The migrant farm worker population has H2A work visas, and they are the primary labor used by Nelson County orchards, vineyards and farms to harvest produce, grapes and other crops. CVFWI in partnership with the Virginia Department of Health and UVA’s Latino Health Initiative conducted five vaccination events for the migrant farmworker population in Nelson County. 575 farmworkers were vaccinated resulting in a vaccination rate of 97%.

Healthy Farm Workers Program

Evolving from the COVID vaccination initiative, CVFWI created the Healthy Farm Workers (HFW) program which has been running for four years. This program includes preventive healthcare checks for diabetes and hypertension, as well as assistance in navigating the Central Virginia healthcare system for farm workers who are geographically and socially isolated. The HFW program, more recently has evolved into a Multipoint Care Access Initiative (MCAI), which seeks to make culturally and linguistically appropriate services accessible to farm workers.

CVFWI & CTLP Tax Workshops

Community Tax Law Project (CTLP) has worked alongside CVFWI for the last five years, addressing tax rights
and responsibilities and providing free tax filing for farm workers. In 2024, tax workshops were introduced to
assist farm workers with education about their tax obligations. This project strengthened CVFWI and migrant
farm worker relationships further.