Jacqueline Henderson

Jacqueline Henderson has been working with senior centers in the Bronx since 1968.

In the 1970s, Ms. Henderson left her full-time position to devote more time to her fiber art. Her crochet patterns appeared in Woman’s Day, McCall’s and Coats & Clark publications. She also authored The Woman’s Day Book of Designer Crochet. Her wearable art and tapestries are in private and corporate collections. During this time, she continued to work with older adults as a teaching artist with several Catholic Charities leisure clubs and HRA senior center programs.

In 1979, Ms. Henderson began working as a consultant for the Hope of Israel Senior Center in the Bronx, and in 1989, was offered the position of Director – a position she continues to hold. Her philosophy on working with the senior population focuses on arts and culture, and encouraging creative expression.

The Hope of Israel Senior Center was founded in 1973 and provides educational and cultural programming, as well as meals for the seniors in the community. Under the direction of Ms. Henderson, seniors at the Center are offered a variety of arts and culture-based classes, including poetry, crochet, painting, art and chorus. The Center also offers computer training and digital literacy classes for seniors.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hope of Israel Senior Center closed from March 2020 through June 2021. During this time, Ms. Henderson and the Center worked with the City to make sure their seniors received meals and performed regular outreach and check-ins with members of the community. The Center also offered virtual programming for seniors, which included online classes ranging from arts to exercise, including stress management, which was taught by Ms. Henderson personally.

Initially, Ms. Henderson had the privilege of working as the Arts and Crafts Director at the William Hodson Senior Center, under Gertrude Landau, who is regarded as the founder of the first senior center in the world. Gertrude Landau’s philosophy has been a continuing influence on Ms. Henderson’s work with older adults to this day.