Programs Funded

In support of our mission to support classes and programs at the Acton Senior Center, the Friends of Acton COA has contributed to the following:

2023:

• • Honoring Excellence Program (brought to you in honor of Tom Crowdis, Jr.):
    • Piano Concert by Sivan Etedgee
    • Ted Reinstein (of Chronicle) Presentation on: Before Brooklyn
  • Tuesday Evening Dinners
    The Friends has begun to underwrite some Tuesday evening dinners which have been well-attended. Local restaurants have partnered with this effort including Legend Cafe, Bueno y Sano, As Good As It Gets Café, and Filho’s Cucino. The Friends look forward to adding additional eating establishments to this list.
  • Music:
    • History of Popular music series
    • Broadway music series
    • Broadway Judy Garland
    • John Clark, Music Presentation Brill Building
    • Irish Voices and Harp
    • Blues
    • Latin music
    • Holiday favorites
    • Music of WW11
    • Classical music series – blend presentation & performance
  • Arts and Crafts:
    • Art presentations via Zoom
      • New England seascapes
    • Classes on
      • Watercolor painting
      • Card making
      • Women Impressionists
      • Smartphone photography
      • Wool needle felting
  • History & Education:
    • History talks
      • French Canada
      • Silk Roads history talk
      • Spanish American War Lecture
      • Literature series Emily Dickinson 23 and Winesburg, Ohio
    • Author talks on
      • 18^th century crimes of Bathsheba Spooner
      • Email Scams workshop
  • Entertainment:
    • Weekly Netflix movies (with popcorn and on the big screen)
    • Arthur Miller’s plays
    • Elvis impersonator
    • Iconic Paintings Presentation
    • Francis Perkins Show
    • Puccini Opera
    • Astronomy
      • Are we alone? Presentation
      • Stonehenge
    • Albert Einstein performance
  • Political subjects:
    • Spooky politics
  • Subscriptions:
    • Netflix
    • The Week
    • The Wall Street Journal (Honoring Excellence Fund)
    • The Boston Globe
  • Health and Wellness:
    • Muscle and joint recovery/pain management series
    • Laughter yoga
    • Sharing Housing
    • Dancing Joy
  • Poetry and words:
    • Words Galore classes (in person and via Zoom)
    • Poets Live Forever classes (in person and via Zoom)
    • Poetry Sharing
  • Exercise:
    • Tai Chi classes offered weekly, year-round are funded by town of Acton.

Previous Years:

• Honoring Excellence Program introduced in 2022 (in honor of Tom Crowdis, Jr. donation):
  • Ted Reinstein (of Chronicle) Presentation on: Country Store Stories
    • First Honoring Excellence Program
• Arts and Crafts:
  • Drawing cartoons via Zoom
• History & Education:
  • Medici Family
  • Supreme Court
  • Trail of Tears
  • Vietnam
  • Author talks on:
    • Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist
• Entertainment:
  • Visit from a miniature therapy horse
  • Holiday Concert
  • Holiday tea
  • Presentations on using DNA in genealogy
• Ted Reinstein of Chronicle Presentation on Writing your life story
• Ted Reinstein of Chronicle Presentation on The war in Ukraine
• Political subjects:
  • Political trivia
  • Campaign trail humor
• Health and Wellness:
  • Preparing for caregiving lecture via Zoom
  • Creativity and aging