Kareen King is a seasoned singer-songwriter and multidisciplinary musician who captivates audiences with her performances. Her style blends folk, pop, and adult contemporary genres, complemented by humorous and heartfelt storytelling. Kareen’s work delves into themes of loneliness, love and belonging, marginalization, ageism, meaningful conversations, connections with individuals living with dementia, and creative engagement.

With 18 years of experience in aging services, Kareen focuses on elevating the lives of individuals residing and working within the continuum of care, including Assisted Living, Skilled Nursing, and Memory Care. Her two albums, The Person in the Picture Ain’t Me そして Find Me, have been utilized for staff training in long-term care settings. Additionally, her book, Engage! 28 Creative Enrichment Experiences for Older Adults (ArtAge Pub.), has empowered professionals in the aging field to create meaningful activities for their clients. Beyond her concerts, Kareen conducts workshops on effective caregiving, volunteerism, and creative engagement programming.

Kareen has delivered keynote concerts and breakout sessions for various conferences, including the Kansas Healthcare Association, Memory Bridge, Pioneer Network Association, Kansas Activity Director Association, LEADER Summit, Nashville Alzheimer’s Association, Full Circle Aging Expo, Geriatric Symposium, Mc5 Coalition, and the MidAmerica Institute on Aging and Wellness. In her hometown of Lawrence, Kansas, she has shared her stories and songs at numerous Story Slam events.

As an artist-in-residence at Northwest Passage, Kareen connected with at-risk youth through songs and stories focused on loneliness and belonging. Her creative engagement techniques and music have empowered therapeutic arts professionals working with youth in Kenya and Tanzania. Moreover, her storytelling and music have inspired middle school volunteers to form meaningful connections with elders.

Kareen’s music, storytelling, and creative engagement tools empower therapeutic arts and activity professionals, inspire volunteerism, and foster compassionate, intergenerational connections with elders. She takes pride in sharing her expertise with communities across Kansas.

Kareen is deeply passionate about creating a culture where older adults and their care partners are loved, validated, and actively engaged. She is committed to inspiring effective volunteerism to address challenges stemming from widespread nursing home staff turnover and shortages. Kareen dreams of a more connected, loving, and inclusive world and eagerly shares her music, storytelling, and creative engagement expertise to make that vision a reality.

Somebody’s Someone
This heartwarming presentation combines original songs, stories, and research to explore aging experiences. I share practical insights for meaningful engagement and compassionate caregiving, addressing topics such as connecting with individuals with dementia, combating boredom, being with someone actively dying, and treating individuals with dignity.

Finding Emilou
Through original song and storytelling, I share the power of human connection and reciprocity in the powerful tale of my friendship with Emilou, a nursing home resident who would rather die than live without love and belonging. This presentation explores the surprising exception of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and the magic of Martin Buber’s I-Thou philosophy.

How to Be an Effective Volunteer in Aging Communities
This experiential program equips volunteers with tools to approach caregiving communities with confidence, empathy, and creativity so they can bridge the gap caused by nationwide staffing shortages and turnover, and address the problem of loneliness, boredom, and purposelessness. The added benefit for the volunteer is increased confidence, personal growth, and life enrichment.

The Magic of Storytelling
This experiential program teaches story structure, story-telling techniques, how to facilitate storytelling in a group setting, how to capture stories, and the importance of story as your most meaningful legacy

Primary Performance Fee

$500 – $5,000 for a 60-90 minute concert plus travel reimbursements (current Federal-State mileage rate).

Educational and Community Complementary Fees

$500 for a 90-minute workshop, $850.00 for a 3-hour workshop, $1,500.00 for an all-day training Fees are negotiable. There are discounted rates for under-resourced groups and select charitable events.

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Given the diversity of conferences and special events, each engagement may require tailored consideration.

Her dual objectives are:

Ensuring your event’s success

Fair compensation for expertise and costs

Fees will align with industry standards for keynoters/professional speakers, reflecting event scope, size, and precedent.

These programs are the same as listed above in Primary Program Description. Kareen is happy to hold Q&A sessions and offer her time to provide companionship and individual music to one or more residents if time and opportunity allow.