What does a dream look like for seniors? For one couple, it was as simple as a date.
That’s what the Dream On Seniors’ Wish Foundation granted for Gary and Jen Reynolds of Nanaimo. The wife was living in a care facility fulltime, while the husband was still at home, and he just wanted to take her out on to dinner. The foundation stepped in and had her makeup, hair and nails done and took the two out for a night on the town.
“They were so in love,” says Gayla DeHart co-owner of Nurse Next Door, a private home care company and chair of the Dream on Seniors’ Wish Foundation. “They had a wonderful night.”
And that’s just one example. Other wishes the foundation has fulfilled involve visiting long-lost family members or buying new equipment to help with mobility issues.
For Burnaby’s Bev Baxter, the foundation teamed up with the Burnaby Interagency Society to help buy her a walker so she could get around. Wendy Scott of Burnaby’s Nurse Next Door said the woman was overjoyed.
“She had tears in her eyes. It’s one of those things where you realize: not a very big dream, but you made a very big difference in the life of a senior,” she said.
Applicants for the Dream on Seniors’ Wish Foundation must be 65 years or older and in need of extra help, be it emotional, personal or financial. They should also be good storytellers, as the foundation is hoping to share their experiences.
Nurse Next Door launched the foundation last year, but as DeHart tells it, seniors sometimes need extra encouragement to dream.
“It’s not as easy as you would think to share their dreams with us. They are thinking about their kids and their grandkids and what does everybody want,” she said. “Dreaming feels like something for the young in a way. We are really trying to inspire people to think about aging in new way.”
Seniors can apply to the program themselves, or others can nominate someone with a dream. For more information, go to www.dreamonseniorswish.org.
