Researchers are looking to see how art, such as music, improves emotional, physical and mental health, especially among seniors with memory loss. Residents will be tested before and after each art session to see if their health improved.

“When you see the people dancing or when they know the words, or people that aren’t able to speak because of a stroke, but once a song comes on, they are able to mimic the song with their mouth, that’s beautiful to me,” said Jackie Laskee, activities director at Christian Care Communities. “That brings joy and a tear to my eye.”

Check out the video to learn about this research.

As part of the festival, Kentucky and Indiana middle and high school groups are also invited to showcase their talents. These students get the chance to perform in Comstock Recital Hall while receiving tips from professional jazz musicians.��

In��other��classrooms,��students are able to get lessons from UofL jazz professors who help the teens hone their skills.��The goal��of the festival is to allow��students��to play music freely and enjoy jazz itself.��

Ansyn��Banks, a��UofL��Jazz Professor,��said:��“I want them to take away a love for the music and an��opportunity��to express themselves that you can’t with words.”����

Check out video from the 2018 festival:��

There members of raiseRED’s executive board — Morgan Tallio, AJ Walters and Dulci Gurley — took the time to talk to UofL News about why they dance.��

Morgan Tallio

Tallio has been in the raiseRED community for the past three years, and has served as a dancer, team leader and programming director.

“To me, raiseRED is a community of college students that care more than anybody that I have met in my life and it’s really crazy because a lot of people see college students as really selfish. But seeing people come together for such an amazing cause, like pediatric cancer, means more to me that I could ever explain,” she said. “Dancing for 18 hours of my life can can help save a child’s life and cure pediatric cancer … it is the least I can do.”��

AJ Walters��

Walters, this year’s Public Outreach Coordinator, has been with the raiseRED team for the past three years, serving as a dancer for the past two years. For Walters, the event is way to support the local and national community through raising awareness and funds for research.

“I wanted to find a philanthropy that I could really support and get behind at UofL. I’ve tried multiple avenues, and I really found my home at raiseRED,” he said.��

Dulci Gurley

Gurley has worked with raiseRED for the past four yeasr, as a dance, morale captain and morale coordinator (this year). She said she is emotionally invested in the cause.

“When the numbers go up (at the end of the marathon) your breath catches in your throat and you see you hit your goal and all the hard work you put in all year pays off. It’s the most intense feeling of pride and excitement that you could ever experience and then you immediately start sobbing,” she said. “It’s more that this 18-hour event that happens once a year. It’s really this cool opportunity to see all these UofL students caring a whole lot make the biggest difference.”

Kennedy Raley��is one of those drivers. Looking��through��special��glasses with a��tiny telescope��attached to them, Raley can make the four-hour drive from Louisville to Murray State University where she is a freshman cheerleader. She was required to take a year’s worth of training with the special glasses before she could get her driver’s license.

“Don’t be scared��that they’re letting visually��impaired people on the road because��we’re probably more trained than you are,” she said.��

Learn more about her story:����

The Alternative Service Break Board at the University of Louisville is a program of the Engage Lead Serve Board with a mission to create active citizens through direct service. Since 2015, Alternative Service Break Board (ASBB) has been impacting local, national and international communities.

This ASB trip focused on the LGBTQ+ Youth and Homeless populations in Atlanta and the issues surrounding their circumstances. Our group became immersed into the culture of Atlanta by staying in the Lydia House, which is an renovated church in the center of the city. We volunteered for four days at various locations that focus on LGBTQ+ Youth and Homeless citizens. Most of us on the trip have a close connection to one or both of these populations.

We left in December, the day after finals. Throughout the course of our trip, we worked alongside three non-profit organizations. The first, called City of Light,��helps create safe spaces for all people. Here, we deconstructed office spaces and classrooms, moved furniture and chairs, and helped organize and create pamphlets for people who wanted to be members of this organization. Our group chose to work with the City of Light because of its commitment to creating safe spaces for students and other folks who identity on the the LGBTQ+ spectrum.

Our second location was Lost-N-Found, which is an non-profit dedicated to end homeless for the LGBTQ+ Youth. Here, we organized clothing, books and CDs for the organization’s thrift shop. We also created more than 100 hygiene and care packages for its nonprofit arm, called CHRIS 180. While we dropped off the kits, we were able to tour different spaces and programs that are available to the people of Atlanta.��

We chose this organization because its proceeds go toward outreach, a transitional home and an LGBTQ+ Youth center.��

On the last day of the trip, we traveled throughout Atlanta to different museums and local hot spots, such as the Civil Rights and Human Rights Museum, Centennial Park, and the Flying Biscuit Cafe.

Overall, our was a success because it was the first completely student-run trip outside of the state of Kentucky. Our work with the three different organizations made up a total of 340 hours of community service, which equates to a full-time employee working for 8.5 weeks.

Our overall purpose was to focus on how an individual or group can leave an great impact on a local or national community. Since our return, we are now more equipped to serve the Louisville community with a passion for service.

Allen graduates Friday with honors from the University of Louisville. She’s prepared to enter the workforce while providing the life she wanted for her son. She overcame obstacles but admits she couldn’t do it alone —��Allen had a great deal of support from UofL, the Family Scholar House and her father, along with inspiration from her 8-year-old son, Ben.

“Since he has been born, everything that I have done in my life is for him. And I knew I had to do whatever it took to keep a roof over his head.”

Learn more about her story:

The program covers everything from hazardous material leaks to treating disabled hikers in wilderness areas. With the help of Army Captain Robert��Greener,��UofL��students are learning triage skills, treatment plans and the essentials of saving multiple lives in a short amount of time.

According to second-year Medical Student, Jacqueline Sippel, “It’s important to learn how to do these things without necessarily having everything you’d have in a hospital.”��

Check out more about the certificate program:��

The course was made available for the fraternity brothers as part of Pi Kappa Alpha’s overall mission: “developing men of integrity, intellect and high moral character and to fostering a truly lifelong fraternal experience.” Membership development chair, Alex McGrath, and chapter president, Alex Barnum, said it is important to provide their members valuable life skills such as CPR.

“We wanted to give the men life development skills that people should but don’t have,” McGrath said.

��“How better off can you be than to have 20 to 30 people in a room at any given time who have that (CPR training) capability?” Barnum added.

The CPR is just the tip of the iceberg of endeavors pursued by the fraternity. The Kappa Zeta Chapter of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, commonly known as Pike, joined UofL in 1995. Since then, Pike’s members have regularly volunteered at Cochran Elementary, even creating the Cardinal Club, which provides in-school tutoring and mentorship.

Pike has also raised philanthropic awareness through events such as Spin for Steven and the Fireman Challenge.

The program focuses on the three pillars of sustainability – economics, social impacts and the environment. According to Justin Mog, assistant to the provost for sustainability initiatives, the interdisciplinary program helps students prepare for careers in universities, corporations and government agencies.

“It’s so exciting because students can now, not only stop ignoring but start exploring some of the key issues that are facing humanity right now,” Mog said.

Check out more about the program below:��

“I think it’s a great program” said UofL fan Ashley Davenport. “It helps spread the message that a little bit goes a long way. There’s a lot in our landfill so every little bit counts… I’m glad it’s making it easy for us.”

Check out more about the program below:��