The All Abilities Choir is a new activity that LIFEDesigns has been able to facilitate for our clients and members of the community. The story about the All Abilities Choir really starts with Jake. Jake is an outgoing young man who loves music and baseball. Like any young person, Jake has big dreams. In recent years, LIFEDesigns has started a new planning process to help our clients identify what their dreams in life are, and set achievable milestone goals to help them make steps toward achieving their dream. Jake participated in this planning process in the past couple years, and through that process, we learned 2 things about Jake: that he really wants to be choir director, and that he wants to learn how to play baseball. In 2014, it was Jake who started our annual talent show for clients. Every year at the talent show it’s been a tradition for everyone who participates to join in together in the very last act and sing a song as a group. They’ve chosen some really fun songs over the years, such as the IU “This is Indiana” song, and the “Can’t Stop This Feeling (Dance, Dance, Dance)” song from the movie Trolls. This annual tradition inspired Jake to ask, “Why can’t we do this more than one time per year? We should practice together more often…” Through this idea and the support of Kristen King, our Community Engagement Coordinator the All Abilities Choir was born. The choir is for anyone who enjoys music. For Jake, “it means coming together and bonding through music”. There are currently 25 members including 5 volunteers who meet every other Wednesday from 4:15-5:15 at Arlington Heights to practice together. Each practice they practice singing 3 songs. Right now they’re giving a lot of time to practicing the National Anthem “Star Spangled Banner” because they’ll be performing that at LIFEDesigns upcoming golf outing, and at a North South Highschool basketball game.
Jake and Lauren (pictured above) are co-directors and help to guide the practices, but everyone involved has the opportunity to share their ideas, and the group tries singing different songs in different ways based on requests from all members. For Lauren, this was a great opportunity to get more involved with the community through volunteering.
“As much as I love studying music in an educational environment, the competitive side of the industry can often bring out the worst in people. There are many musicians both in the educational and real world motivated by self-interest and a desire for notoriety. This has always been a part of the culture of the music world, but I have struggled with this piece of my career and education. Volunteering allows me to reconnect to my own passions and the reason I want to be involved with music—to influence and positively inspire others.”
We believe this choir is a great example of how volunteers and community members can help to make the community as a whole more inclusive to all people. People with developmental disabilities are so often isolated in society. This choir and LIFEMentor Volunteers are a great way to start making connections between community members and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. To join the choir, email or call Kristen King kking@lifedesignsinc.org or (812) 332-9615.
To see upcoming events where the choir will perform, go to our Event’s page.