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Puzzles To Remember

PUZZLES TO REMEMBER is a 501(c)3 organization that provides puzzles to nursing homes, veterans facilities, and other facilities that care for Alzheimer's and dementia patients. Puzzles To Remember was founded in 2008 by Max Wallack, who recognized the calming effect of puzzles and many other benefits on people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Max graduated from Boston University, Summa Cum Laude, in 2015, and from Harvard Medical School in 2020.

Beginning in 2020, Hailey Richman is the Executive Director of PuzzlesToRemember. Since 2011, Hailey has been distributing puzzles to nursing facilities around the globe. Hailey also spends time doing the puzzles with nursing home residents. She always brightens their days.  Hailey is also the founder of KidCaregivers.com, where she provides advice for children dealing with dementia in their family members. Hailey has begun a program called PuzzleTime which involves volunteer students going to nursing facilities and doing puzzles with their residents. Max serves as a mentor to the KidCaregivers program.

If you have puzzles that you would like to donate, please contact us at Puzzles2Remember@gmail.com and we will find a location near you where you can bring your puzzles. We can also provide you with a donation letter so that you can claim the value of your puzzles as a tax deduction.

To see a short video from WCVB Ch. 5 "BOSTON STRONG" about Max's efforts on behalf of Alzheimer's patients, click here.

To see a short video about Hailey's Puzzle Time Program, click here.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Encouraging Philanthropy

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By Max Wallack
Puzzles to Remember

Helping Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers is my passion. By the age of six, I was integrally involved in the care of my great grandmother, who had dementia. I made a number of inventions to help her, ranging from a special step to get into our minivan to a seat attached to her cane for shopping.

Near the end of her life, Great Grams was admitted briefly to several hospital geriatric psychiatry wards, and she spent the last 10 weeks of her life in a dementia ward at a nursing facility. Upon visiting these facilities I saw the beneficial effect that working on jigsaw puzzles had on these patients. Somehow, they were calmer and more alert, overall “more there” mentally.

After Great Grams’ death, I decided to collect jigsaw puzzles and distribute them to facilities caring for Alzheimer’s patients. I began by delivering puzzles to each facility that Great Grams had been in, as well as each veteran’s facility that I could travel to. That is how PuzzlesToRemember was born.

Since that time, I have also spent thousands of hours volunteering, including doing research on the enzymes that may have the possibility of helping us identify Alzheimer’s disease in its earliest stages, when it is most treatable. I plan to become a Geriatric Psychiatrist, spending my life helping Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers, both clinically and through research.

In addition to pursuing my own passions, I feel it is important to encourage other young people to become involved in philanthropy and give back to society. No one is too young to make a difference. The effects of microphilanthropy can be huge. Many people doing a little can be more powerful than a few people doing a lot.


I have given many addresses to schools, religious groups, etc. about my views on philanthropy. Recently, I was called upon to give a keynote address to over 600 people on this topic. The group consisted of gifted students and their parents. I felt it was important to spur this group of students on to become involved in giving back to society. 


Below, is a link to my presentation.










Max Wallack is a student at Boston University.  His great grandmother, Gertrude, suffered from Alzheimer's disease. Max is the founder of  PUZZLES TO REMEMBER. PTR is a project that provides puzzles to nursing homes and veterans institutions that care for Alzheimer's and dementia patients.





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Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Alzheimer’s Puzzles Delivered in Reno and Sparks, Nevada

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By Max Wallack
Puzzles to Remember

Earlier this week, I had the privilege of presenting a keynote address at a conference in Reno, Nevada. There were over 600 people present.

My address focused on two areas. First, it was my goal to inspire many young people to become involved in philanthropy. I believe a person is never too young to be able to make a positive difference in the world. Second, I talked about my own activities, including my current research work with enzymes related to Alzheimer’s Disease.

Springbok Puzzles had donated over 50 Springbok PuzzlesToRemember for the purposes of displaying them at this conference. On Monday, before returning home to the East Coast, I visited 9 nursing facilities in the Reno and Sparks area, and I donated these puzzles to those facilities.

It was a privilege to be able to visit these facilities and meet some of the patients there. I saw the eyes of one patient light up when I gave her the Coral Carnival puzzle. She loved the picture on the box, and she pointed to the picture of the fish and said she had one like that!

In another facility, there was a group of residents working on puzzles when I arrived. The activity director said she had to help them because they really were not capable of doing such complicated puzzles. It seemed like I had arrived at exactly the right moment to be able to turn things around. Clearly, the residents became much more engaged when I gave them the 36 piece puzzles.

It was a wonderful visit to Reno for many reasons. On Sunday, I spoke to many people about how wonderful philanthropy can make a person feel. On Monday, delivering puzzles, I got to experience that feeling myself.





Max Wallack is a student at Boston University.  His great grandmother, Gertrude, suffered from Alzheimer's disease. Max is the founder of  PUZZLES TO REMEMBER. PTR is a project that provides puzzles to nursing homes and veterans institutions that care for Alzheimer's and dementia patients.

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PUZZLES TO REMEMBER was founded in 2008 by Max Wallack, in memory of his great-grandmother, Gertrude Finkelstein, who died of Alzheimer's disease in 2007.
Puzzles To Remember is registered in Massachusetts as a public charity. Contributions are welcome, and are tax deductible under sec. 501(c.)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.

For more information, write to us at Puzzles2Remember@gmail.com