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Puzzles To Remember

PUZZLES TO REMEMBER is a youth led 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to enhancing the lives of individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias through jigsaw puzzles, cognitive engagement, and social connection. Led by Executive Director Hailey Richman, Puzzles To Remember has distributed more than 236,000 puzzles valued at over $2 million to more than 5,000 memory care communities, nursing homes, veterans facilities, senior centers, and other organizations across all 50 states and 16 countries. Our programs have benefited more than one million people while diverting approximately 148 tons of puzzles from landfills through donation and reuse. Puzzles To Remember also promotes intergenerational connection through Puzzle Time, which brings young people together with individuals living with dementia for shared puzzle solving, conversation, and companionship. Our mission is to provide engaging and purposeful activities that promote connection, participation, and joy while enhancing the quality of life of those affected by dementia. Donate Puzzles If you have puzzles you would like to donate, please contact us at Puzzles2Remember@gmail.com. We will help identify a location where your puzzles can benefit individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Donation acknowledgment letters are available upon request.

Thursday, September 3, 2015

A Quiet Moment of Enjoyment in the Nursing Home

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By Max Wallack  
Puzzles to Remember

Today I received a wonderful message from my friend Helen McVicker. Helen is the President and CFO of When HELP Can't Wait. This organization gives some important necessities to veterans and elderly residents of nursing facilities. These residents are often too poor to even provide themselves with toothbrushes or night clothing.

A while back, PuzzlesToRemember sent some of the Springbok PuzzlesToRemember to Helen's organization. Today I received this photo:

Accompanying this photo was this message from the director of the nursing home where this resident lives:

 "One of my residents using one of the Alzheimer's puzzles you gave us. I saw her independently working the puzzle and thought it was the perfect opportunity to grab a picture and share so you guy's know the work you do make a huge difference. She got the puzzle on her own and started working with the pieces and was really enjoying herself. Its rare to get pics like that."

I thank Helen and When HELP Can't Wait for sending me this very gratifying photo.
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Max Wallack graduated from Boston University and worked as a Research Intern in the Molecular Psychiatry and Aging Laboratory in the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at Boston University School of Medicine.  He is currently a student Harvard Medical School.  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.

Posted by Max Wallack at 7:22 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