University Letter

UND's faculty and staff newsletter

Doodles for Granny: Send your doodles to bring joy to older adults

Dakota Geriatrics announces Doodles for Granny, a new program designed to bring joy to older adults through art making. Members of the UND community are invited to submit doodles or artwork depicting positive aging. Dakota Geriatrics will print and distribute the doodles to older adults in regional nursing homes. Older adults will have the option of coloring the image or hanging the image in their room.

Doodles or artwork can be submitted at https://und.libwizard.com/f/doodlesforgranny. Images in any media are accepted on a rolling basis, with images collected and distributed to nursing homes on the first of each month. Select doodles will be exhibited online on ArtSteps.

Doodles for Granny is led by Donald Jurivich, Professor and Chair, Department of Geriatrics, UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences and Program Director, Dakota Geriatrics.

“We are thrilled to launch Doodles for Granny”, Jurivich said. “This project aims to engage the public with older adults through art-making. Older adults are at greater risk of increased social isolation, which we know is associated with a host of adverse physical and mental health outcomes. By sharing doodles made by members of the UND community and engaging older adults in art-making, we hope to counter the effects of social isolation.” Jurivich said that participatory arts learning for older adults has significant benefits to overall wellness and counteracts social isolation. “Doodles for Granny provides older adults with a much-needed creative and emotional outlet.”

Doodles for Granny is funded by Dakota Geriatrics. The Dakota Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program is supported by funding from the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $3.75 million, with 15 percent financed with nongovernmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.