Puzzles To Remember: April 2016

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.

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Helping Other Caregivers

By Hailey Richman

Assistant Director, PuzzlesToRemember

Founder, www.kidcaregivers.com

Today I took another friend to the nursing home to solve puzzles and spend time with the seniors. We saw an elderly woman with her son, they were visitors. They were very sad because her husband had a stroke and is not doing well. The elderly woman and her son were very quiet and seemed very unhappy. We asked them if they would like to help solve the puzzle with grandma. Even though they do not have dementia, it made them feel better to think about something else. We were all very happy when the puzzle was solved. Sometimes, caregivers need to give other caregivers some "care". We are not alone! We all go through tough times and it makes us feel good to support each other!!

Puzzles Donated to "When HELP Can't Wait"

By Max Wallack
Puzzles to Remember

A few years ago at a Jefferson Awards event, I met Helen McVicker. Ms. McVicker is the founder of When HELP Can't Wait.

"When HELP Can't Wait" exists to supply very current needs for the comfort and convenience of nursing home residents that cannot be readily funded by the facility where they reside."

Several times since our meeting, I have sent puzzles to Ms McVicker. She brings these puzzles to some of the most needy nursing home patients, who can't even afford toothbrushes, let alone puzzles.

I recently received photos of two nursing home residents working on these puzzles.

Thank you, Ms. McVicker, for the wonderful work you are doing.
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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 at 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