In 2005, Joann Jakeway, Brad Crim, and Aly Goodwin part of the ZOO Teen Volunteer Program sat down and wondered what they could do to engage the large elderly population in their community. They wanted to reach out but didn’t quite know how. While kicking around ideas, they noted that there were a lot of “band geeks” on the committee as well as in the ZOO Teen program as a whole, including both Joann (trombone) and Aly (clarinet). Thus the idea of a band was born! With a little more brainstorming the team decided that “everyone loves a little jazz!” and settled on the idea of a Jazz band.
With Aly at the frontline the team rallied behind their idea and went to panel. With their seed grant they bought a drum set, music stands and music. It was now time to get the band off the ground! The first year was hard, it took a while to build a set of songs to get started with concerts and then scheduling was challenging. The second year was worse because Joann, Aly and Brad all graduated. However with the support of their amazing ally Bill Davis, Volunteer Coordinator at Toledo Zoo, and Frank Ramon, junior high band teacher, the band kept going. New members trickled in and performed at the occasional concert. Slowly membership began growing and now they once again have a strong group of core members. As Bill says, “The Band stays alive because its members enjoy it….as long as that spirit remains, we can keep the band rockin”.
Over time the Jazz Band has significantly increased the interaction between the elderly and youth in the community. The band is scheduled to play at 19 different facilities this year. They play a 3-song set, provide an educational intermission featuring live animals and animal artifacts (hides, skulls, etc.) and then play a final 3-song set. Outside the concerts they visit the residents of the facilities offering exclusive guided tours around the zoo as well as work together to make enrichment treats for the animals. In a world where teens are often perceived negatively, the Toledo ZOO Teen Jazz Band has gone a long way to pull their community together while still doing what they love!
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