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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.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Alzheimer's Facilities and Memory Cafes Have Been Supplied with 26,000 PUzzles

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By Max Wallack
Puzzles to Remember

As of today, PuzzlesToRemember has distributed over 26,000 jigsaw puzzles to Alzheimer's Facilities, Adult Day Cares, and Memory Cafes.

These puzzles have been distributed to 2149 facilities around the world. They include facilities in every state, plus Canada, Aruba, Australia, Colombia, England, France, Mexico, Poland, Singapore, and South Africa.

I am happy that these include about 55 Memory Cafes. I am a huge advocate of Memory Cafes. I believe they are immensely helpful to both those with Alzheimer's disease and their care partners.

Here is a link to many memory cafes on the Third Age Services website: http://tinyurl.com/kq9n6xg



PuzzlesToRemember recently received a grant from Youth Service America:

"The ABC Summer of Service Awards, in collaboration with Disney Friends for Change, is an initiative that inspires kids and their families to make a lasting, positive change by helping people, communities, and the planet." 

This will enable me to provide additional puzzles for memory cafes and Alzheimer's facilities. If you know of such a facility that would like to receive, at no cost, two of the Springbok PuzzlesToRemember, please email me at PuzzlesToRemember@gmail.com. •


Max Wallack is a student at Boston University and a Research Intern in the Molecular Psychiatry and Aging Laboratory in the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at Boston University School of Medicine.  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.
He is also coauthor of "Why Did Grandma Put Her Underwear in the Refrigerator? An Explanation of Alzheimer's Disease for Children."

http://amzn.to/13FYYxh


Posted by Max Wallack at 2:30 PM

1 Comment:

Anonymous said...

Max, I think you are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXTRAORDINARY!!! :)) I stumbled upon this while researching Computers for people with Alzheimer's; and you gave me the perfect interim gift for my aunt, who just told me yesterday how much she used to LOVE jigsaw puzzles! There are so many pictures of her Great Great nnieces and nephews she's never seen; so I am now goinnng to turn some of them into puzzles for her to keep her connected to their life journies! THANK YOU for being such an INSPIRATION to us all!!

November 26, 2013 at 1:06 PM  

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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