The "DISCOVERIES in AGING" series presents:

National Day of Listening - November 2011
Record and preserve the stories of your older family members

Click here to watch a video clip from "Health Styles," a program produced by Connie Mead on CTM, that tells about the National Day of Listening program here in Chelmsford.

National Listening Day started by StoryCorps in 2008, takes place on the Friday after Thanksgiving –a time when most families are together. We will start the campaign a few weeks earlier and encourage people to record interviews with older family members, neighbors or other people with interesting stories to share. This will give families and the community treasured recordings. Volunteers from Chelmsford Telemedia will help us set up “Listening Kiosks.”

To record at the main Library on Tuesday and Thursday evenings 7-9 p.m. contact the Library's Reference Department askus@mvlc.org or call 978-256-5521, ext 211

To record at the Senior Center on a Monday or Wednesday during the daytime call the Senior Center at 978-251-0533.

Those interested in interviewing family members or friends can register for a time slot to use the equipment and the expertise of a volunteer camera operator and interviewers.

The Library, the Senior Center and Chelmsford Telemedia will lead the efforts.The Chelmsford Center for the Arts, the Board of Health, the Chelmsford Historical Society and the Healthy Chelmsford Partnership are all supporting the efforts. We are hoping other individuals and organizations will join us. If you would like to help with the National Day of Listening here in Chelmsford please contact Kathy at kcryanhic@mvlc.org We can use volunteers to spread the word and to help with cameras and editing work.

If you can't make it in to use a Listening Kiosk:
StoryCorps asks all Americans to take an hour to record an interview with a loved one, using recording equipment readily available in most homes—such as computers, iPhones, tape recorders, or pen and paper. StoryCorps says, “Instead of getting lost in Black Friday’s long shopping lines, get lost in a conversation with a loved one. Listening with a loved one is the least expensive and most meaningful gift you can give someone during the holiday season, and all year round.”

Sponsored by the Chelmsford Library, Chelmsford's Elder Services Department and Chelmsford TeleMedia.
Funded by the Chelmsford Friends of the Library

Rebecca Shafir, author of "The Zen of Listening," presented two informative programs at the main library this fall. Speech/language pathologist, communication consultant, and brain fitness expert Rebecca Shafir has been helping people communicate and think more clearly and powerfully at home, at work and in public for more than 25 years. Both of Rebecca's programs were videotaped by Chelmsford Telemedia. DVDs will be available in the library's collection to check out with your library card. You can also view many library programs on streaming video at CTM's website http://www.chelmsfordtv.org/streaming.php

"Staying Sharp- Brain Fitness for Boomers and Seniors" with Rebecca Shafir
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 7 p.m.

In this one hour presentation, you will learn practical ways to limit senior moments, distractibility and foggy thinking and prevent the onset of Alzheimer's decline. Improve your listening, recall more of what you read. Rebecca Shafir (neurotherapist and speech language pathologist) simplifies the current brain research that supports neuroplasticity – the ability to rejuvenate old brain cells and create new ones.

click here to print off the fall 2011 brochure

"Mindful Listening" with Rebecca Shafir
Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at 7 p.m.

This talk highlights the importance of listening for everyday communication and family relationships, including:
-The listening challenges we face in the 21st century and what we can expect in the future as “technocreep” further infiltrates society
-Listening myths – and the truth about listening
-The four characteristics of mindful listening, and how it changes relationships
-How the brain listens – the neurophysiology of hearing and listening in simple terms, and what we know about gender listening differences
-Barriers to listening and how to transcend them
-The four most common listening stoppers and how to listen under stress
-Hearing it, but not “getting it”: how to spot an auditory processing problem and what you can do about it
Read more about our speaker, Rebecca Shafir at her website: http://www.mindfulcommunication.com

Rebecca Shafir's programs will help set the stage for our community-wide participation in the "The National Day of Listening" campaign.