Music Mends Minds, a music program for seniors and those with dementia, Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease that started on the island last fall, is picking up steam in a new location while its local organizer, Amy Huggins, works with the program’s founder to expand its reach nationally.

“It’s exciting, and it has just been really, really fun,” Huggins said.

The program was started in California by Carol and Irwin Rosenstein after Irwin was diagnosed with Parkinson’s and early-onset dementia in 2008. He experienced dramatic improvements in his memory, energy and overall outlook while participating in an inter-generational respite program at UCLA, where he played piano and mentored students. Huggins and her husband — who has also been diagnosed with early-onset dementia — saw a news story on the program, and they decided to meet with the Rosensteins while on a trip to visit their daughter in Los Angeles.

Upon their return, Huggins, who is also a Rotary Club member, was inspired to set up a similar program on Vashon as a Rotary community service project with the help of Jan Milligan.

Initially, the weekly sessions were held at the Lutheran church and saw 20 to 25 participants per session — some brought by bus from Vashon Community Care (VCC) and others coming on their own or with family members — with many community and Rotary Club members stepping up to volunteer their services as song leaders and musicians. A well-attended holiday sing-along in December left Huggins with hopes high for the program’s growth.

But attendance dropped significantly with the arrival of the new year.

Huggins said it was Linda Fox, who drove VCC residents to the weekly program, who brought up the idea of moving the location.

“She (Fox) said that there were always other residents who wanted to come, but the bus couldn’t take them all. So we talked about moving Music Mends Minds from the church to VCC,” she added.

Early this month, the program made the move to VCC, where it saw an immediate increase in participation, with 37 people attending at the last meeting.

“VCC has small percussion instruments and bells that we can hand out to people, and they love it,” Huggins said. “Everyone is clapping, whistling, shaking bells or keeping the beat and even harmonizing. We have a song book, but many don’t even need the words. At the end, they always ask when it’s happening again.”

While still working on possible ways to bring younger participants into the mix to provide the inter-generational aspect of the program, and contemplating another group sing-along before Strawberry Festival, Huggins is reaching out to other Rotary clubs with an eye to national expansion. To get started, Huggins will visit Rotary clubs in Ballard and Lake Union, and she is also scheduled for a meeting with Carol Rosenstein and the president of the Santa Barbara, California Rotary.

“Rotary is a global organization,” she said. “One of their big service projects was to partner with the Gates Foundation to eliminate polio, which has been very successful. Our hope is to get enough local clubs interested in this program to really expand its reach.”

Music Mends Minds takes place from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Tuesdays at Vashon Community Care. All are welcome to attend regardless of age.