Puzzles To Remember: June 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.

Monday, June 20, 2016

Our New Director of Media and Publicity

The blog below is by Hailey, the Assistant Director of PuzzlesToRemember. Hailey is also the new Director of Media and Publicity. She is wonderful about spreading the word to other children and to adults about how to interact with those with dementia. Please contact us at PuzzlesToRemember@gmail.com if you would like to interview Hailey about her work.

Teaching Kids In My Class

Today I was able to teach my classmates about Alzheimer's disease. I used the smart board and did a presentation. I explained to the students a little bit about what the disease does to the brain and the ways that people with the disease act. I then read the book: Why Did Grandma Leave Her Underwear in the Refrigerator by Max Wallack and Carolyn Given. After reading the book I answered lots of questions from my classmates. I even found out that a boy in my class also has a grandmother with the disease! I did not even know that, we never talked about our grandmas!

I would like to thank my teacher, Ms. Zelwinder for letting me do my presentation!

Tips

1. Ask your teacher if you can do presentation about Alzheimer' disease for your classmates.

2. Read a book to the class about the disease

3. Answer questions that your classmates may have about the disease
4. Have your classmates share their feelings about the disease

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Making Friends

by Hailey Richman

PuzzlesToRemember

www.KidCaregivers.com

Many seniors REALLY like kids. Whenever we work on puzzles with seniors we try to become friends with them. So we are not just working on puzzles but making friends too! We became friends with Dorothy. She has mild dementia which means she was able to talk a lot and understand us. She is in her nineties. After we solved the puzzle with her, we talked to her about the olden days and sang the song, "Follow The Yellow Brick Road". Since her name is Dorothy, she had the name of the lead character in the Wizard of Oz. Here are some tips:

Tips

1. Introduce yourself to the seniors in the nursing home

2. Tell them a little bit about yourself (your name, your age, your grade)

3. After solving a puzzle, talk to the senior about something fun.

4. Thank them for solving the puzzle with you

5. Give them a compliment. (for example: "your hair looks nice, you have such a nice smile, I love your nail polish)

6. Smile and give hugs!

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

"Why Did Grandma Put Her Underwear in the Refrigerator? An Explanation of Alzheimer's Disease for Children" Receives a First Place Children's Book Award in the Category of "Family Matters"

By Max Wallack
Puzzles to Remember

The 2016 Purple Dragonfly Book Awards has awarded a first place national prize in the Category of "Family Matters" to "Why Did Grandma Put Her Underwear in the Refrigerator? An Explanation of Alzheimer's Disease for Children".

The book, first published in 2013, is coauthored by Max Wallack and Carolyn Given.

The book also received an honorable mention in the category of "Health." The book is available here.

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.