About

Side By Side

Side by Side is a community service group that performs at nursing homes in the San Francisco Bay Area from January through June. At each performance, Side By Side performs a selection of songs from the 1930s to the 1970s. Some songs are performed with lively group choreography and others are sung one-on-one to an individual audience member. After each performance, the group spends 15-20 minutes talking with the residents.

Mission

The mission of Side by Side has three components:

• Community service
  Leveraging our talents to better the lives of others.
  
  
• Communicating with the elderly through music and personal interaction
  Sharing our joy of music with our audience and spending time talking with the elderly after every performance.
  
  
• Establishing a supportive and caring community within the group
  Creating an atmosphere where we feel accountable to each other and comfortable reflecting on our service experiences, allowing us to continually motivate each other in our service and personal endeavors.
  
  

History

Side by Side was established in 1994 to fill a void within the Stanford community service spectrum. While there were countless programs established for government, health, hunger, homelessness, and youth education, there were none for the elderly. The group's co-founders, Belinda Fu and Lisa Brooks, recognized the need and established Young at Heart, which officially became Side by Side in 2003.

Acknowledgements

Side by Side would like to thank The Stanford Fund, Stanford ASSU, and individual donors for their support of the group. We wouldn't be able to carry out our mission without their help!