Carolyn L. Farrell Foundation for Brain Health Moving Into the Community

Art. Education. Music. Companionship. In the community.

A recent grant to the Carolyn L. Farrell Foundation for Brain Health from Three Arches Foundation will provide expanded opportunities and assistance for individuals with dementia and their care partners –where they live.

With the $65,000 award, the Farrell Foundation will implement an extensive community outreach program to continue services at its Westlake center but also bring activities into local facilities. The Center for Brain Health currently offers programming including enrichment, creative initiatives, and companionship, but Executive Director Jerry Devis says the new grant will now allow The Carolyn L. Farrell Foundation for Brain Health to reach further into the community.

“With this generous Three Arches Foundation operating support,” Devis says, “we will now be able to engage with clients and their care partners where they live, cooperating with health professionals and existing programs.

“We can bring the enrichment, creative engagement and connection to recreation centers, cultural and residential facilities. We also hope to reach out to health care professionals to promote the latest interventions,” Devis continues. “These programs cannot present a ‘cure,’ but they can greatly improve the quality of life for people with dementia and other brain health challenges.”

Three Arches Foundation awarded $2 million in 2021 annual grants to 21 nonprofit organizations for their work to improve the health and well-being of people in Lakewood and surrounding communities. According to Three Arches, the grants “reflect its focus on access to care, specifically the advancement of solutions to remove barriers and improve behavioral and physical health.”

Three Arches Foundation support for the Farrell Foundation began in 2019 as it awarded annual grants in 2019 and 2020 to the Westlake brain health organization. And, in 2020, Three Arches Foundation awarded a special additional $10,000 for the Farrell Foundation to use for virtual and socially distant programs to keep in touch with clients during the COVID pandemic.

“We are pleased that grants received by the Farrell Foundation continue to cultivate and expand community-based programs for people with dementia and those who care for them,” says Kristin Broadbent, president and CEO of Three Arches Foundation. “Their unique and ever-evolving approach to harnessing the power of arts enrichment provides much-needed support and care for families.”

The Farrell Foundation has served hundreds of individuals with dementia and their families over the last ten years with the focus to give meaning and support in both practical and creative ways. Participants in the programs share the positive impact that the enrichment sessions have on their ability to socialize and improve quality of life.

In 2011, Dr. Charlie Farrell and daughter Rev. Katie Farrell Norris started the Carolyn L. Farrell Foundation for Brain Health to make arts based programming available to the community in support and honor of Carolyn Farrell, their wife and mother. Their programs show arts can bring peace, enjoyment, and inspiration and is an important part in increasing the quality of life for many people. The arts enrichment program provides opportunities for socialization, and research has shown how beneficial this can be for individuals affected by dementia. For more information, see the website: farrellfoundation.org.