National Media

Frontier Airlines Magazine Article
Kristin Baird Rattini (Freelance writer in Shag=nghai, China, Frontier Magazine, March-April 2004)

Linda Holloway's Rainbow Bridge spans the gap between the generations.

As a touring musician, Linda Holloway was used to life on the road. For years she'd performed in lounges and clubs from Chicago to Dallas, singing soft rock and country classics. But when her ailing grandmother moved into a nursing home in northwest Texas, Linda embarked on a far different trip, one tinged with the blues.

Every month, for four years, Holloway made the 21- hour roundtrip trek from her home in Denver to visit her grandmother, Bessie "Granny" Stephens. As an advanced Alzheimer's patient, Stephens wasn't fully aware of her granddaughter's visits. Holloway, however, was aware of negligent treatment her grandmother received while she was away. Her grandmother's deteriorating condition spoke of improper care; the cold, uncaring attitude of the staff spoke of a deeper neglect.

Holloway eventually moved her grandmother to Denver, where she could keep a close eye on her care during her last two year. But Holloway felt compelled to do something so that her grandmother's suffering would not be in vain. She thought of the other residents at Granny's nursing home, those who were alone. "If a person in a nursing home doesn't have visitors, they don't have a voice, an advocate," she says.

True to their own calling as musicians and musical therapists, Holloway and cofounder Sharron Brandrup launched Rainbow Bridge with, of all things, a musical. Entitled "Rainbow Bridge: An Intergenerational Musical," the production was part satire of experiences at Granny's nursing home and part clarion call that community involvement - by children, by families, by companies - can make a world of difference in elders' lives. "We did 12 performances, and the musical received a standing ovation every performance," Holloway recalls with pride. "People were leaving the theater saying, 'Everyone needs to hear this message.'"

It's an urgent one. According to the American Health Care Association, more than 1.45 million senior citizens live in nursing facilities. That number is expected to climb steadily over the next 20 years, as baby boomers age and require care. For many residents, nursing home life is a solitary existence; the "Older Americans Report" found that 66 percent of current residents received an average of only one visit per year.

It's an urgent one. According to the American Health Care Association, more than 1.45 million senior citizens live in nursing facilities. That number is expected to climb steadily over the next 20 years, as baby boomers age and require care. For many residents, nursing home life is a solitary existence; the "Older Americans Report" found that 66 percent of current residents received an average of only one visit per year.

Holloway was determined to boost that average. "I kept hearing this voice, 'bringing together the young and old,' and I saw Sharron and I working with kids and elders. I realized bringing the generations together was key to my wanting to change things in nursing homes," she says. "The name for Rainbow Bridge came to me the same way. A rainbow is a symbol of hope and promise, that it's going to be better. The bridge is for bringing generations together."

Using proceeds from the musical, Rainbow Bridge created the Youth & Elders program to bring students into care facilities on an ongoing basis. Holloway and Brandrup had experimented with such a program during their visits to Texas; the two women had put on assemblies at schools and arranged for students to visit nearby nursing home. However, those visits were one-time shots. Youth & Elders instead would forge lasting partnerships between care facilities and surrounding schools. "It's all a community effort," Holloway says. "We're trying to make people realize that these elders are part of the neighborhood."

The students at Emmaus Lutheran School know who the elders in their neighborhood are. Each month during the school year, the fifth - through eighth-graders walk a mile to visit their grandpartners at The Argyle, one of 100 care facilities now participating in Youth & Elders program. Every Rainbow Bridge visit - at every facility, every time - starts with the "Wonderful" song. As the students sing the verse (You are wonderful/ you are wonderful/ and this is a wonderful day) they hug the residents and ask their names to personalize the lyrics (Robert is wonderful/ Robert is wonderful and you're going to stay that way). "We provide training so that, when the kids go in, they have expectations of what they'll see, hear and experience," Holloway says. "We teach them four steps: take the elder's hand and look in their eyes; introduce yourself; ask their name; and give a compliment. We also make them aware of the fact these people need our compassion and understanding. So the kids are already filled with a mission before they go."

Eighth-grader J.P. Jensen admits being nervous during his first trip to The Argyle, but the jitters faded after talking to Julia, an 88- year old resident. In the four years since, the two have forged a close friendship. J.P. has faithfully visited Julia at the nursing home, while Julia has attended J.P.'s Christmas program at school. "It (Rainbow Bridge) is a great program," J.P. says. "It helps kids be able to share more with older people who don't get out much, and you build different kinds of friendships than you normally would.

As a service-learning organization, Rainbow Bridge works closely with teachers to plan activities that incorporate current lesson plans into each visit. For example, grandpartners often serve as reading buddies for younger students; they listen and provide help and encouragement as the students practice their new skill. Older students must write and present a living history of their grandpartners; the exercise develops their interviewing and public speaking skills.

For all students, especially at-risk ones, reflection journals written after each visit have proven an invaluable tool to help them express their thoughts and feelings. "With the at-risk kids, the adults who came with them to the nursing homes saw them as junior criminals, because that is how they usually acted," Holloway says. "But when they participated in Rainbow Bridge, they became soft and vulnerable, compassionate and respectful."

In September 2002, the Points of Light Foundation honored Rainbow Bridge for its compassion by naming it a Point of Light. At the time, only 10 Colorado organizations had received the national award, which honors volunteers exhibit a sense of caring for others and responsibility for solving community problems.

Holloway hopes to continue spreading that light to others. Using the success of the Youth & Elders program as a model, she and Brandrup have added a Family & Elders program and Business/Community & Elders program in order to attract volunteers from all corners of the community.

Churches, banks, service organizations as well as families throughout Denver have signed on for the year-or-more commitment of caring for a grandpartner. "It's a meaningful experience because the whole family can participate together," Holloway says.

Rainbow Bridge also has spread into New Mexico, where a second chapter now volunteers in care facilities in the Santa Fe area. New Mexico Director Becky Stamm has incorporated into Rainbow Bridge's offerings a School-To-Career program that introduces teenagers to careers in the long-term-care industry.

This year, Rainbow Bridge will launch yet another initiative: Making Dreams Come True. Starting with a Week of Dreams this April, Rainbow Bridge will work with sponsors to fulfill the dreams of dozens of elders in care facilities around Denver. During a pilot run last fall, two elderly ladies in wheelchairs got their wish to go shopping for themselves at a mall and to attend a symphony performance - simple pleasures that they'd missed for years. When a limousine pulled up to pick up the two women for their day out, their faces beamed with surprise and delight.

Holloway herself has a few dreams unfulfilled. She’s the first to admit that, for the past 11 years, she’s set aside almost everything else to build Rainbow Bridge. And so she’s like to devote more time to her music and songwriting. She's especially like to see "Rainbow Bridge," the musical, have a life of its own. Perhaps one day she'll take it on the road, this time singing the song that's in her heart.