Happier Aging has a truly fun and fulfilling focus this month! It’s time to make a local senior’s dream come true!
Summertime is the perfect time of year to go dream catching. Will you help us find a local senior who would benefit from a dream come true?
The Dream On Seniors Wish Foundation endeavours to connect senior dreamers to the resources they need to make their dream happen. The foundation was established a few years ago to celebrate aging and to encourage seniors to keep dreaming! The foundation is powered by our Nurse Next Door Home Care franchise system across North America.
Initially I expected that early dream requests would be for extravagant cross-country trips to visit places not seen in many years. Or to see family across the oceans. Yet what we found was that the dreams were simpler, more practical things like going to a musical concert, or going swimming for the first time in years. Then there was a beautiful date night we were honoured to set up for a couple with mobility challenges. Or there was the Second World War pilot who wanted to go up in a plane again. Or the dream that is featured currently on the www.dreamonseniorswish.org website — a fellow named Gary who just wanted to get some interviews he had done years ago with notable jazz musicians put in digital format so he could share them with others much more easily. It’s tremendously heartwarming to watch these dreams unfold and come true.
Do you know a senior who has a dream, or a wish, and would love to apply (with your help or encouragement if needed) to see if their dream could get fulfilled? How fun and fulfilling would it be to see a local senior you know have their dream come true?
There are only three easy criteria to apply:
• Dreamer must be 65 or older, as we’re all about inspiring seniors to dream
• Dreamer must need a little help. Whether it’s financial, personal or even emotional help, we’re looking for seniors who perhaps couldn’t make their dreams come true on their own
• Dreamer must be willing to have their story told. Nothing inspires like a great story, and our dreamers must be willing to share their story or let us share it on their behalf, so that others can be inspired by their story as well
At the Dream On Seniors Wish website there is a link to Submit a Dream. There are also other inspiring dreams written about under the Dreams Granted link. Or for fulfilling seniors dream videos that will definitely fill your cup, search YouTube for Dream On Seniors Wish to view a few there.
If you know a senior, perhaps a loved one, who would be open to seeing their dream fulfilled please encourage them to apply. Or consider helping them go online and assist with the application if need be. It’s a quick process and could result in a dream come true!
It’s time to inspire the next wave of dreamers. As we go in to Dream Catching mode here, please help us find the next generation of dream casters and let’s see if we can make a senior’s dream come true here in Cowichan!
Chris Wilkinson is the owner/GM for Nurse Next Door Home Care Services for Cowichan and central Vancouver Island. For more info visit www.NurseNextDoor.com or for questions or a free in-home Caring Consult call 250-748-4357, or email Chris.Wilkinson@NurseNextDoor.com