Looking for a special something to put in a Christmas stocking or on your wall? Check out the TAPS 2016 Calendar — it’s sure to put a smile on your face.
“This is year two of this version of a calendar and all of the photos were shot outdoors in locations around Creston,” said Maureen Cameron, community liaison co-ordinator for TAPS. “These folks had so much fun, and so did the staff and volunteers.”
The Therapeutic Activation Program for Seniors (TAPS) provides daily activities for seniors who might otherwise not get out much. Operating under the auspices of Valley Community Services, the program is widely credited for enhancing quality of life and reducing need for medical services.
“This year we did 12 photo shoots and each one became an event,” Cameron said. “On each photography day the questions would start — ‘What are we doing today? Where are we going? What are we going to wear?’ The clients really looked forward to the outings — they became part of our daily program of activities.”
Working with volunteer photographer Brian Lawrence, the seniors and staff came up with location, costume and pose ideas
“We set up an idea board to get input at the start — and there was no shortage of suggestions! Then, when we got the photos back from Brian we put them on the board and started to get input for the captions beneath. It was great fun!”
Because some of the participants are in their 90s, a TAPS bus was on hand throughout each photo shoot, ready to take anyone who needed to leave back to home base at Rotacrest Hall.
“But no one ever wanted to leave!” Cameron laughed. “Each shoot was a gathering, a social event.”
The calendar designed by Michelle Hansen of Imagine Ink is black and white calendar (to keep down costs and maximize financial return to support the program), and includes photos at the Columbia Brewery’s bronze sasquatch, on the exercise equipment at Klaus Korner (behind Millennium Park), the community complex’s now-closed skateboard park and even the player’s bench at the arena. Costumes were chosen to create humorous scenes and it is clear by the expressions on the models’ faces that they enjoyed the experience.
“I think the photo shoots brought out long-hidden memories of dressing up as children,” she said.
Cameron credited a lengthy list of volunteers (they are acknowledged on the calendar’s back page) for the project’s success, and thanked the Creston Rotary Club for a donation that allows TAPS to send a calendar to donors.
The calendars are $10 and are available at Black Bear Books, Kingfisher Used Books and Creston Card and Stationery.