As the volunteer coordinator at New Vista, I saw bits and pieces of Shannon’s work with residents when I attended snippets of concerts – hand chime, talent show and theater productions. Shannon’s patience and calmness helped put the residents at ease. They readily accepted her direction and performed beautifully. The residents have a variety of health problems. Shannon was able to work with people living with serious memory loss and dementia and a host of physical ailments. She was able to guide the residents during the concerts to a sense of accomplishment and self-fulfillment that is rare for all of us and very rare for people living in care. Well done Shannon!

Margaret Hansen
(Campus Coordinator of Volunteers at New Vista Society)

Dear Shannon,

I would like to thank you for being such a big help and an integral part of ourteam. I appreciated so much your wonderful contributions to our residents and how you have tapped their talents and enabled them to express themselves (like the resident who you helped write a song and perform it at the talent show). Thank for your ideas during ourteammeetings that helped us at times of problem solving. Your wonderful voice at the play that we had here,Mary Poppins, was the highlight of it all.

Thanks for your flexibility in helping me out at my birthday party celebration by playing the piano and doing a sing-a-long to make it special for the residents. Overall your caring, sensitivity and beautiful smile extended to all of us will be remembered. Thanks for everything, you did an amazing job. Good luck to you on your future endeavors.

Marivic Craig
(Activity Aide at New Vista Society)

Dear Shannon,

My wife and I have just received and listened to the CD of “My music and I” by [my wife’s step father] and yourself. We were both moved to tears-tears of Joy!! It was an absolute delight-and very moving experience- to hear [him] sing. You helped him find his voice. Thank-you so much. This was something he had wanted to do since childhood and he finally did it-he sang his song, and it was beautiful.

Shannon, you are very good at what you do and we really hope that New Vista Society realizes the full value of your efforts and the wonderful results you’ve managed to achieve with this one case study. The residents there would benefit greatly with a continued musical therapy program with your continued participation. “Man cannot live by bread alone.” Again, thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!

Henry Jablonski
(Family member of client)