PHOTO BY BETTY SPRINGER

Sunday, August 28, 2022; ONE LOVE, Senior Appreciation Project’s Enchanted Evening with Joy, A Place for Us, W. 117^th and Madison Avenue: Joy is ready to provide an evening of entertainment. She brought joy to senior citizens attending the event singing a wide variety of songs and engaging those in attendance to sing some popular tunes along with her.

The senior appreciation project, ONE LOVE, brings senior citizens together to strengthen sense of community

by Betty Springer

(Plain Press, October 2022)               ONE LOVE, a senior appreciation project, hosted An Enchanted Evening with Joy on August 28^th at A Place for Us on Madison Avenue at W. 117^th. The senior appreciation project was designed to bring together able-bodied seniors, seniors with disabilities and seniors with alternative lifestyles so they can get to know one another and collaborate with the community anchors for the express purpose of strengthening the neighborhood.

   Jaye Bailey, one of the founders of ONE LOVE said, “I take meds daily, but music is medicine for my mind and soul.”

   Joy (who by the way is a senior) opened the show sashaying down the aisle dressed impeccably in a black satin dress with silver glitter twinkling from shoulder to ankle with a split to the thigh and a matching hat that set it off.

   Her theme, One Love, set the mood for the evening as she sang jazz classics that brought back memories of the crooner era of Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and female greats such as Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughn, all her mentors. She also graced us with a bit of Country and Western singing “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” popularized by Crystal Gale, another one of Joy’s favorite artists.

   The audience sang along with her on “My Girl” and “Falling in Love.”

   Music brings back the feeling of life when nothing else can. Karen Crocheron, a community activist, said. “It was a pleasant evening listening to the melodious sounds of Joy. As she went from one tune to another, it was reminiscent of swinging with Sarah Vaughn or Natalie Cole. It was a lovely was to spend a Sunday evening.”