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Second Wind Dreams
Love never fails; Character never quits; and with patience
and persistence, Dreams do come true. |
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| Dear Friend of Second Wind Dreams,
It's hard to believe that the summer is over, football season has begun and soon the weather will be turning cooler, perhaps even cold depending on where you live! This season tends to make me think about being prepared. Football teams have to prepare for the physical demands of the game, parents have to prepare their kids for new studies and many elders begin to prepare for a lonely holiday season. As Dreamweavers, this is the ideal time for us to begin preparing for the holiday season as well. Gifts of Light is a program designed to combat the lonliness that so many of our elders experience during the holiday season. It is also a fabulous way to engage your community and recruit new volunteers for your existing program.
If you are unfamiliar with the Gifts of Light program, allow me to give you a synopsis. This holiday program targets nursing home residents that will not receive a gift or a visit during the holidays. We partner with individuals, families, organizations and corporations to purchase the gifts and/or deliver them on Christmas Eve, Christmas Morning or during Hanukkah. Many have now made this their Holiday Tradition. Thousands of our elders are left alone during the holidays. If you are interested in starting a Gifts of Light program in your area, please contact us for everything you will need to get started.
Dream Teams
Many of our members have decided to create internal "Dream Teams" to help discover and facilitate dreams. Teams can consist of an employee from each department and a volunteer. Teams work together to plan and carry out the dream process and also plan the dream celebration for the dreamers who receive the dreams. Some Dream Teams rotate members on a quarterly basis gving others a chance to get in on the fun! Some teams up the ante a bit by challenging each other to find and fulfill a set number of dreams. At the end of each period, awards can be given to "Dreamweavers" for a job well done! If you would like more information on starting a Dream Team in your ECC, please don't hesitate to contact me!
Dream Books / Boxes
Another way to discover dreams it to place a "Dream Book" in an area accessible to all staff. We have designed special forms for use in the binder that encouarge staff to note any "requests" received from residents during routine cares. For instance, while assisting a resident with her bath, the resident may tell her aide, "I'd love to have a pedicure". If the aide takes a moment to write that in the Dream Book, someone else may know how to make that dream a reality. As your staff gets in the habit of looking at the Dream Book and writng requests in it, your dream program will begin to grow and your residents quality of life will just keep getting better and better! Here is a Form you can use to create your own "Dream Book".
Some ECCs have also utilized a "Dream Box" with suggestion cards. This allows visitors, family members, staff and even residents themselves to write a dream request on a suggestion card and place it in the box. Your "Dream Team" would then check the box periodically for the dream requests. It's a great way to get everyone involved.
Dream Outcome Forms
Many of you have been submitting your dream outcome forms online. This is a great way to get them to us quickly and gives us the ability to share the stories with others. Take a look at this one. This individual inserted the digital photos right into the body of the report! That is a terrific way to keep it all together. When submitting photos, choose the ones that tell the story the best. We know a lot of DREAMWEAVERS are shutterbugs and take lots of picutres - which is great! Include as many as you feel are needed to tell the story best! We encourage all of you to submit your reports through email if you can. Send them to laurie@secondwind.org. Remember, we will highlight a dream every month in the email blast! Maybe one of your elder's dreams will be next! |
| Feautured Dream
Marcia is 56, Elvis is her idol - she has pictures of him hanging all over the walls in her room.
The impersonator is one of the "Dealertainers" from the Imperial Palace, and he generously donated his time. He was a doll - went around signing and writing dedications on photo cards he'd brought and giving them to all those who were interested. He gave Marcia 2 of them, each with a different message, and said "I'll come back whenever Marcia needs me." In a moment of clarity, Marcia reached up, grabbed his wrist, and said "how many days" (til he comes back). He was touched, as were we!
Silver Ridge Healthcare, Marcia's home, sponsored a luncheon of cheeseburgers, fries, and milkshakes to make it feel like a diner. To keep everyone in Elvis mood after the impersonator finished, the residents were treated to a video performance of "The King"!
Although Marcia was the center of attention, all the residents, staff and visitors had a great time at the event!
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Warmly,
Laurie Labishak
Director of Membership Development
Second Wind Dreams
1031 Cambridge Square-G
Alpharetta, GA 30009
678-624-0500
678-624-9578 Fax |
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