Creating the Good with AARP IL

A Florida man is making sure nothing stands in the way of the next musical maven. John Sweeny repairs violins and gives them away to aspiring musicians who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford it. And he does it all for free.

Jonathan and Sandy Miller co-founded the Good Memories Choir, a unique choir for people who suffer from memory loss and their care partners. They tell us what it takes to start a choir like this, how singing helps people with memory loss and how you can join a choir in your area.

Since 1989, Alivio Medical Center has been a pillar of the Hispanic community in Chicago, providing bilingual, low-cost health care to everyone who walks through its doors. They provide care for the mind, body and soul through popular art and dance programs for older adults, as well as affordable housing through their Casa Maravilla project. Esther Corpuz, CEO, and Sue Vega, Programs Manager, of Alivio Medical Center join us to share more about this inspiring community health resource.

Each year across the country, more than a billion birds die from flying into glass windows and structures. Annette Prince and Nora Lloyd of Chicago Bird Collision Monitors work every day with a large volunteer network to rescue birds in need across Illinois.

Making sure his father’s legacy lives on, Mike Latting from Pembroke Township, IL puts on a legendary rodeo steeped in family history and tradition and featuring Black cowboys and cowgirls.

Tzippora Rhodes and Charlie McShane from The Recyclery Collective, a unique educational bike shop in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, talk about empowering people of all ages to enjoy riding and fixing bikes.

One winter, Bob Zeni’s frustration with the bland tomatoes at the grocery store came to a head and he started growing tomatoes in his basement under grow lights. Many years, hundreds of varieties and thousands of tomato plants later, he is known locally as the “Chicago Tomato Man,” selling his famous plants and helping others grow their own delicious varieties at home.

Over the course of 7 years, photographer Andria Lo and writer Valerie Luu documented the fashion sense and stories of more than 100 older adults in Chinatowns across the US and in Canada. They join us on this week’s episode to talk about the project and some of their favorite subjects from Chicago’s Chinatown.

When he was a priest in Nigeria, John Ademola Adewoye traveled to the United States, where he realized that he could live freely and openly as a gay man – something that was not possible in his home country. When he was granted asylum in the US, he decided to leave the priesthood and help other persecuted LGBTQ+ people from around the world seek asylum and find housing in the US.

On this special Father’s Day episode, we talk to Yvette Moyo, co-founder of “Real Men Cook,” a Father’s Day event in Chicago started in 1990 to provide a positive family experience for African American men. We also catch up with Shemuel Sanders, who founded Shemilah’s Outreach Center in Decatur one year ago, after losing his daughter to gun violence.