02 May Changing the World
We recently reached capacity of guests at the beautiful Sweet Heart Winery for our Dementia Together Joy on the Journey first “official” fundraising event. We more than met our match to help us sustain and grow our services, and for a couple sweet hours, we were surrounded by a room full of world changers.
My former 88 year-old neighbor, Isla, has been known to bring over a roast, tell us to cook it and she’d come back for dinner later. She taught me, you don’t have to cross the ocean to change the world. Sometimes, you just need to cross the street.
At our event, I built on what Isla taught me and shared lessons learned through Dementia Together specifically about changing the world.
Sometimes to change the world, we just need to hop on Zoom for a support group, memory café, or family consult, answer an email, make a phone call, or deliver a meal.
Sometimes, we need to hula dance at an in-person Hawaiian themed memory café or reveal hidden artistic talent in a fiercely competitive potato decorating contest at an Irish themed memory café.
Sometimes to change the world, we just need to sing a song with someone.
For our friends in law enforcement, your appearance on the scene with eye contact and a reassuring smile for a person in distress changes their world.
For our medical providers, you can change the world for someone when you give them a Dementia Together patient resource folder—a tangible gift of hope in the midst of receiving a difficult diagnosis.
Sometimes, to change the world, we just need to be the neighbor who shows up. Social isolation didn’t go away when we removed physical masks. It only disappears when we remove our metaphorical masks too.
Our hope at Dementia Together is that we all boldly learn to engage without masks—to interact with vulnerability, authenticity, and compassion—as we choose to cultivate joy and build stronger connections.
That’s how we will change our corner of the world together.
–Cyndy Luzinski
