Towards an action plan for introducing
regular artistic and creative volunteering in healthcare in Malta

A half-day seminar aimed at discussing a proposed action plan to introduce systematic, artistic, musical and creative volunteering in national healthcare settings; discussing the pilot project held at Mater Dei Hospital in the last months and listening to testimonials from patients and volunteers who experienced the performances.

Tuesday 24 January 2012
Ministry of Health, the Elderly and Community Care,
15, Palazzo Castellania, Merchants Street, Valletta

Registration: 8.30am
The roundtable will end at 14.00 following refreshments.

Please click here to download the official invitation.

This project will increase and broaden the general scope for volunteering in health care in Malta. Apart from laying the ground for new volunteering services within the health ambit by persons who are artists, performers, musicians, event organizers etc, the ‘Raising Spirits’ project will in turn encourage hospital employer-supported volunteering by health professionals and hospital staff in organising or participating in creative and artistic activities for patients and visitors.

From research done abroad, creative and artistic volunteering within a health care environment helps to improve physical and psychological well-being, reduces levels of pain, anxiety and depression, promotes a better environment in health care settings for patients, family members and staff, improves communication skills and reduces feelings of isolation, promotes better clinical outcomes by shortening treatment and recovery time.

Raising Spirits is a Flagship Project that was launched and funded by the European Union, within the framework of the European Year of Volunteering 2011.

PLAN – TUESDAY 13 DECEMBER – MATER DEI HOSPITAL

Parking
Permission to park in the Consultants area, next to the Outpatients car park, coming in from the University entrance. I will need to forward your names and car registration numbers by Monday at noon.

Meeting Point
Main reception area at 9.45am.

The Voices choir will sing for 15 minutes each time in the main reception, M2 and Orthopedic wards. Wards M1 and M2 can also be included if you feel up to it. Please wear your VOICES 2010 tee shirts.

PROGRAMME

Morning Program

10.00am:  The Pantomime Dames – Paediatric wards
10.00am: Voices Foundation – Main Foyer, M2, Orthopedic 1 & 2 (M1 & M3)
11.00am: 2 Poetry readers – Renal Unit, Surgical Wards (S3 & S4)
11.00am: Classical duo – Surgical Wards (S3 & S4), Renal Unit

Afternoon Program

4.00pm: Duo a cappella – Rosanne and Bernard Busuttil – Surgical Wards (S1 & S2), renal and possibly O3
4.00pm: Two violins – Main Foyer, M2, Orthopedic 1 & 2 (M1 & M3)
5.00pm: Poetry Reading – Simone Inguanez – Renal unit, Surgical Wards (S1& S2)
6.15pm: MSSP Choir – Mater Dei Chapel

The above will take place in various wards around the hospital including the Main Foyer, Renal Unit, Surgical Wards and Orthopaedic Wards (foyers) and Paediatric Wards

Join us to raise the spirits of patients and their relatives in the hospital!

A flier for the event can be downloaded from here.

raising-spirits.com

The overall objective of the Raising Spirits project is to promote and develop an enabling and facilitating environment for creative and artistic volunteering within healthcare, aimed at improved patient recovery and community wellbeing.
To achieve this, the Raising Spirits partners are setting up of a volunteer-based structure called the “Volunteer Committee”. In line with this, the Raising Spirits partners are looking for 10 people to form this “Volunteer Committee” whose role will be to promote the concept of creative and artistic volunteering at Mater Dei Hospital. To read more about this Call visit www.sosmalta.org/raisingspirits.

Apart from laying the ground for new volunteering services within the health ambit in Malta by persons who are artists, performers, event organisers and so forth, the Raising Spirits project will also encourage creative and artistic volunteering by health professionals and hospital staff for patients and visitors.
Through its partnerships and planned activities, Raising Spirits will lead to the exploration and development of synergies between stakeholders working within the health, creative and artistic and volunteering sectors. Furthermore, this exchange and the activities implemented within the Raising Spirits project will produce a three-year Action Plan aimed at introducing regular creative and artistic volunteering activities on the national healthcare calendar of events.

We wish to apologise for the delay in the release of the VOICES 2010 double CD album. We had a series of unfortunate setbacks due to technical reasons as well as delays in the processing of permits and licenses, which have taken longer than expected. We have now been informed that the CD will be ready for distribution by the end of April, when you will be receiving the CDs by post.

Once again, we do apologise for the delay and thank you for your patience in this matter.

Kind regards

Antonello Gauci
Chairman
VOICES Foundation

As you know, we had wished to have the audio CD of the live recordings of VOICES 2010 ready by Christmas; yet unfortunately we did not meet this deadline.

You will be pleased to learn, however, that instead of ONE free CD, which could contain a maximum of 17 tracks, you will be receiving a Double CD pack – 2 audio CDs containing all the 25 songs performed during the VOICES Listen to the Music plus 2 bonus tracks. A 40-page colour booklet completes the package, which is now scheduled to be in our hands by the first or second week of February 2011. The CD pack will be mailed to you as promised.

We apologise for the delay and are confident that the improved VOICES CD pack will prove well worth the wait.

Best wishes

VOICES

VOICES receive Recognition Award

Further information regarding the GO Malta Music Awards 2010, may be found by clicking below.

GO Malta Music Awards 2010 official website

The Sunday Times, 28 November 2010

Facebook album uploaded by Louisa Wirth

Applications received after the closing date of the Call of 15^th November 2010, may (but not necessarily) be considered and evaluated prior to the next official Call, depending on any funds available.

Following are some links to press coverage which VOICES is being given. We will regularly update this list with more links as they become available.

Marie Benoît’s Diary NEW
Published by: The Malta Independent, 25 October 2010

VOICES on Newsbus, Programme 6
Watch on YouTube: [Part 1, Part 2]

Participation of VOICES in Il Concerto di Natale 2010

• Pino Daniele, Al Jarreau for Malta Christmas concert
  Published by: The Times, 17 October 2010

• Concerto di Natale to be held in Malta
  Published by: di-ve.com, 16 October 2010

Public urged to car pool for Voices concerts – Still some tickets left for weekend
Published by: The Malta Independent, 14 October 2010

Listening… through your heart
Published by: The Times, 13 October 2010

A shot of vocal adrenaline
Published by: The Times, 13 October 2010

Vodafone Foundation funds Voices
Published by: The Times, 12 October 2010

Vodafone sets up “virtual choir” for Voices
Published by: di-ve.com, 12 October 2010

Be part of the Vodafone Virtual Choir and participate on the Voices stage
Published by: maltatoday, 12 October 2010

Voices raising funds and spirits
Published by: The Times, 11 October 2010

Resounding success for VOICES
Published by: The Malta Independent, 11 October 2010

Voices packs the MCC
Published by: maltatoday, 9 October 2010

Voices’ Listen to the Music opens to a packed house
Published by: The Malta Independent, 7 October 2010

L-Aħbarijiet (TVM)
Published by: di-ve.com, 2 October 2010
[Advance to 24 min 38 sec for the VOICES feature]

A love of singing
Published by: The Malta Independent, 4 October 2010

Listen to the music
Published by: Action, September 2010

Listen to the music with Voices
Published by: VisitMalta, September 2010

Voices
Published by: xfmmalta.com, September 2010

Voices unite for a good cause
Published by: escflashmalta.com, 27 September 2010

Voices tgħin fit-twaqqif ta’ ċentru ġdid u se tħallas lill-għalliema għal ħames snin
Published by: L-orizzont, 23 September 2010

Voices-sponsored Learning Centre inaugurated at Caritas
Published by: The Malta Independent, 23 September 2010
Images: [1 2 3]

Paparazzi
WOW magazine, pages 48-49
Published by Network Publications Ltd, September 2010

Learning centre sponsored by the VOICES Foundation inaugurated at San Blas
Published by: The Times, 22 September 2010

Archbishop celebrates mass for VOICES members
Published by: Archbishop’s Curia, 17 September 2010

Listen to the music with VOICES
Published by: Maltastar.com, 13 September 2010

Edizzjoni oħra tal-kunċerti ‘Voices’
Published by: L-orizzont, 22 August 2010

Kinnie supports Voices 2010
Published by: The Malta Independent, 21 August 2010

Making her voice heard – Roxana-Mihaela Caruana
First Magazine, page 20 (pdf page 14)
Published by: The Malta Independent on Sunday, August 2010

Listen to their music
Published by: The Times, 15 August 2010

Voices 2010: Listen to the music
Published by: di-ve.com, 12 August 2010

VOICES – Listen to the music overview
Published by: MyMaltaInfo.com, August 2010