Residents of Pines of Sarasota Senior Care facility have some new artwork to admire, thanks to Lazarus Scholar Jasmine McCoy ’28, Computer Animation, and a group of new Ringling students.
On Saturday Aug. 15, McCoy, who’s been volunteering with the Pines since 2024, led some incoming freshmen in creating a vintage postcard mural McCoy designed herself. Painted on the side of a building, the mural overlooks the Pines campus’s “Founders Field.”
“The mural is a celebration of the founding of Pines of Sarasota as well as the unique intergenerational programming it’s able to host,” she said. “While Pines of Sarasota primarily cares for older folks, they also have a daycare and learning center for children on their campus.”
McCoy was first introduced to the Pines via a rotation of volunteer events through the Lazarus Engaged Learning Assistantship during her freshman year.
“One of these days of service was held at Pines of Sarasota. During that service day I got to walk around the facility, interact with the residents, and hear about Pines of Sarasota and their volunteer opportunities,” McCoy said. She admired the organization’s dedication, especially the engaging programs they provided for their residents. Soon enough, McCoy became a part of those programs.
In addition to helping with transportation and games of bingo, McCoy designed and led art groups for residents to tap into their creativity while having valuable social interactions.
Seeing residents interact with each other and form meaningful friendships introduced McCoy to the significance of the Pines community.
“Being both professional and adaptable can help you find opportunities that you might not have noticed otherwise,” she said. “It was really cool to sit beside such caring and lively people.”
The assistantship is a service-centered program promotes active citizenship and provides the opportunity to pair service in the community with professional development.
