The nonprofit Milwaukee Public Museum’s SPARK! program offers caregivers and loved ones with beginning- to mid-stage Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia an opportunity to explore the museum with trained docents and volunteers. The program, created by the Alzheimer’s Association of Southeast Wisconsin and available at 10 other Wisconsin museums, allows participants to engage in interactive and lively discussions, handle objects and enjoy other multisensory activities all in a comfortable, personable atmosphere. SPARK! family and caregiver programs take place the third Sunday of each month at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and include a 30-minute coffee social before each program. Group programs are held Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2 p.m. and group reservations can be made at 414-278-2714.
MPM’s SPARK! socials are free of charge to participants and upcoming themes are “India Marketplace” on Sunday, May 17, and “Folk Art from the European Village” on Sunday, June 21. Volunteers are needed and those interested should contact Marge Schell at volunteeroffice@mpm.edu. To learn more, contact Dawn Koceja at Koceja@mpm.edu or visit mpm.edu.
Inspired by the SPARK! program, the Milwaukee County Department on Aging has partnered with MPM and the Alzheimer’s Association of Southeast Wisconsin to create the first Milwaukee County Partnership Memory Café, located at Ferch’s Malt Shoppe & Grille in Greendale. The new café allows persons with dementia to socialize with caregivers and others as they would have before diagnosis. Plans are underway to open more Memory Cafés with the hopes of creating dementia-friendly communities throughout the city where people with dementia are empowered to feel confident, have high aspirations and know they can contribute and participate in meaningful ways. For more information, visit alz.org or county.milwaukee.gov/aging.
