2024 Annual Report: WHERE CHILDREN MEET SENIOR THROUGH MUSIC

You deserve a big thank you as we glance in the rearview mirror of 2024:

You’ve brought joy and music to thousands of senior citizens in NewYork.

Table of contents:

Letter from the Executive Director
Our mission & Goal
Activities in 2024
Financial report 2024
Our Board & Partners
Strategic plans for 2025

A letter from our Founder & Executive Director

2024 was a wonderful year: the year The Happiness Factory was officially born.

The project actually began on December 17, 2018, in Paris, with our very first concert — the beginning of a long and meaningful journey. Together with our children and a few of their friends, we set out on this adventure by offering a holiday concert for the residents of Club Mouffetard during their Christmas lunch.
As a family, we simply wanted to bring live music to elderly people who don’t have access to it and who suffer from loneliness.

The project quickly snowballed, inspiring other young musicians to join us, and the number of concerts we were able to organize grew over the years.

When we moved to New York in 2022, we had to start all over again — but with the same passion for sharing music, as a family and with young musicians, with isolated seniors. Many children and families joined us.
The adventure continued with 30 concerts in 2023 and 32 concerts in 2024, touching the lives of thousands of seniors across New York City.

In order to make our project more structured, credible, and visible — to allow students to earn community service hours and to offer tax exemption for donors — we officially founded the nonprofit in January 2024.

The Happiness Factory laid its first stone in January 2024: a new name, fresh colors, a logo, meaningful values, and the ambition to grow.

A few months later we were officially 501(c)(3) approved and registered with the Charities Bureau.

While we were busy building this foundation, our top priority this past year has always remained the same: organizing as many concerts as possible for seniors.

We visited nursing homes, assisted living residences, and senior centers across Manhattan with our instruments, microphones, music stands and speakers — bringing joy and human connection to elderly residents.
Every concert is a magical moment. You really have to be there to feel the power of it.
We’re committed to returning regularly to the same nursing homes — several times a year — so we can build real relationships with the residents, many of whom now know us and look forward to our visits.
At the same time, we’re always trying to expand and bring music to new homes as well.

This past year, our group of young musicians grew from 30 to over 110 volunteers who now perform with us regularly. That growth has been possible thanks to our outreach efforts in schools, parent groups, networks, and on social media.
It’s brought a beautiful diversity of styles, ages, and talents to every concert.

I’m incredibly grateful to you, young musicians for the generosity with which you share your music; to my husband and my own children, who carry a huge share of the performances (especially when we don’t have enough other musicians for a given concert); to the community of parents who support this project with such kindness; and to the Lycée Français de New York, which supported us from the beginning by spreading the word among its students — as well as the other schools that have since joined the adventure.

A huge thank you as well to our board members — Cheryl, Claudine, and Flavie — for their support and commitment throughout the year but furthermore to everyone who participated to place a brick in the Factory.

Now in 2025, we need to keep building the next floors of the Factory.
The number of concert requests keeps growing. Loneliness and isolation remain overwhelming in these senior residences. That’s why we need to continue recruiting more young musicians, organize even more concerts, acquire new equipment, and secure funding to support our mission.

We’re counting on you to help us grow this joyful movement! Together we have the power to bring a brighter future for our seniors.

Thank you once again to everyone who has made this beautiful adventure possible — one that brings to life the power of music and spreads happiness in a world that so deeply needs it.

Together, let’s continue to build the Happiness Factory,

Pascale Blachez, Founder and Executive Director

Our Mission & Goals: a year of music with the Happiness Factory

The Happiness Factory is a New York City-based 501(c)3 non profit organization which organizes live music concerts with children in nursing homes, assisted living residences and senior centers (and also in underserved communities).

At The Happiness Factory, we strongly believe in the power of music to enrich the lives of people suffering from loneliness.

Social isolation and loneliness are serious public health concerns. Numerous studies have shown the positive impact music has on older adults to reduce loneliness, perception of pain, helping with depression, improved heart rate and blood pressure, lowered anxiety and higher self-esteem, etc.. The list is long.

The world does not always care about our seniors of whom many deeply suffer from isolation.

Having children, and more particularly young musicians, around them provides them with the feeling of existing again, sparking a memory or simply bringing a smile.

We believe live music needs to be part of everyone’s health and social care.

But beyond that, foster intergenerational connection is mutually beneficial to people of all ages, and particularly to older adults.

The music played by children brings back seniors’ sweet memories, while imparting wisdom and love to the engaged musicians.

While playing music for seniors, the children do not only find a way to practice, perform, and gain confidence but also experience the power of improving one’s life; the seniors often clap, move their fingers, the head, the foot, or even stand up to dance or sing; this is an enchantment for young musicians to feel how their music move people.

These social connections are life affirming and often transformative.

Key Numbers for 2024

Highlights & Key Achievements

concerts were organized at different venues making 2 to 3 lives music performances in average every month; featuring every time a group of 6 to 12 musicians and bringing hundreds of smiles and thousands of shared notes.

Jan 21. - Henry Street Settlement Older Adults Center

Feb 14. - Goddard Riverside Older Adults Center

May 14. - Goddard Riverside Older Adults Center

Oct 27. - Fort Tryon Rehab & Nursing Center

Nov 13. - Brown Garden Older Adults Center

Dec 31. - Center on the Square Older Adults Center

different locations have been visited in Manhattan and around in the 5 boroughs:

6 Seniors Centers
7 Assisted Living Residences
9 Nursing Homes
2 Underserved communities

Young musicians have participated to the concerts - this is a +300% increase compared to 2023.

88 of them have participated more than 2 times
some have played with their families - we have 8 families playing together
they are between 5 to 20 years old.
they are coming from various schools: LFNY, Riverdale, Hunter HighSchool, Dwight, LaGuardia, FASNY.
from classical music to jazz and popular songs, our concerts embrace all genres to connect with a wide range of listeners
they play different instruments: piano, violin, guitar, cello, trumpet, saxopohone, accordion, tuba, recorder, bass, cello, melodica, and more.

Music has a healing power; it has the ability to take people out of themselves for a moment.

— Elton John

Activities in 2024:

organizing concerts has been a big part of our activity - maintaining a great balance in the organization of live music concerts, offering a rich and diverse experience for both musicians and audiences.
building the non profit organization has also been very time consuming
fostering intergenerational bonds: Beyond music, we have worked hard to create moments of connection after the performance (having snacks and drinks shared between children and seniors), but creating also opportunities for kids to act as mic holders, or sharing drawings and holiday cards for the non musicians. Those precious moments were wonderful opportunities to connect children with older adults.
communicating around the project has kept us very busy: outreach was a keypoint to recruit more musicians, create flyers, visit schools, visit new nursing homes and senior centers, etc…
sharing what we do: updating heartwarming stories in our newsletter, The Happiness Factory Gazette but also on social media.

Financial report

Our board

Pascale Blachez, President

Flavie Ospina, Secretary

Cheryl D’Hollander, Treasurer

Our partners

Our impact

Let the visuals speak for themselves

Strategic Plan for 2025

Overview

In response to the growing demand for live music concerts, particularly in senior communities, The Happiness Factory will significantly expand its programming in 2025. Our aim is twofold: to continue returning to venues we’ve previously served and to reach new communities, especially those that have limited or no access to live music. To achieve this, we are launching a set of coordinated initiatives:

1. Increasing the number of concerts

To meet the increasing demand and reach more communities, including returning to familiar venues and exploring new ones.

Actions:

Schedule more concerts throughout the year, particularly by extending activity to Fridays.
Recruit College students, who are typically free on Fridays.
Target weekday concerts, which are especially important for senior centers that are closed on weekends.
Coordinate multiple concerts on weekend (Introduce concert coordinator roles, likely filled by a music teacher or university student who could be paid, manage logistics and secure funding to cover a second set of equipment (speakers, microphones, drum set, keyboard, etc.)

2. Developing school partnerships

To integrate our program into week day, allowing performances during school hours and fostering intergenerational connections.

Actions:

Establish partnerships with schools to extra-mural weekday concerts during school hours.
Engage students in planning, performing, or attending concerts, promoting community service opportunities.

3. Serving the Francophone senior community

To offer culturally tailored concerts to French-speaking seniors who do not reside in nursing homes, and are often isolated from their communities..

Actions:

Organize dedicated concerts in rented venues
Provide a personalized musical experience in their native language and cultural context.

A grant application (STAFE) has been submitted to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help fund this initiative.

4. Launching a Fundraising campaign

To secure the necessary financial resources to support our program expansion and ensure long-term sustainability.

Actions:

Launch a dedicated fundraising campaign in 2025 aimed at individuals, foundations, and organizations who align with our mission.
Highlight the impact of our concerts on elderly and isolated populations, especially in care homes and underserved communities and media press.
Target funds to support:
- The purchase of additional concert equipment
- Compensation for concert coordinators
- Venue rentals for special events
- Transportation and logistical costs
Utilize storytelling, testimonials, and performance videos to drive engagement across digital platforms and for fundraising.

Conclusion

The year 2025 will mark a significant expansion of The Happiness Factory’s mission to bring joy through music.

These strategic initiatives are designed to deepen our impact, reach underserved communities, and build sustainable models for the future. With additional funding and volunteer support, we are confident that we can meet the increasing demand and continue to enrich lives through live music.

We need you!