A proposal to receive grant monies submitted to AARP Wisconsin by the Irvin L. Young Memorial Library, Whitewater, has been approved, according to information released by AARP and the library.
Once received, the funds will be used to purchase memory kits for use by the community.
According to information released by the library and AARP, the library will be a recipient of the AARP Wisconsin “Small Dollar, Big Impact” grant, which, according to information released by both organizations, is awarded monthly.
The funds will be used to purchase kits that provide therapy and help occupy the time of people living with dementia, allowing their care-giving partners some time for themselves, released information noted.
According to Suzanne Haselow, the library’s outreach services specialist, the library has six memory activity kits and is in the process of creating two more.
Themes offered by the six kits already in circulation include sewing, games, gardening, puzzles, assembling, and a history of Whitewater. Each are designed to provide entertainment, while engaging and enriching the lives of those affected by memory loss, and can be used at home, the release stated.
“The whole idea is to keep them (people living with memory loss) busy for a while so their care partner has a little free time to take a shower, pay bills, get dinner ready or do whatever they need to do,” Haselow was quoted as saying in the release.
She plans to use the $1,000 grant from AARP Wisconsin to purchase therapy dolls and motorized pets specifically designed for use by people living with memory loss, she said, adding that people living with memory loss remain a “vital and important part of our community.”
Among kits that soon will be made available, she noted that they will contain therapy dolls – one Caucasian and one Hispanic – that will allow the person living with dementia to have something to cuddle and for which to provide care, and motorized therapy pets that respond when petted and are programmed to make cat and dog sounds at acceptable levels.
“These are kits that we would never have been able to afford on our own,” Haselow said in the release.
She added that items included in all of the kits are selected to spark memory, create positive feelings, and increase meaningful activity.
“The kits we currently have were developed in partnership with Whitewater’s Dementia-Friendly Community Initiative. Ideas and feedback, as well as donations of items, were curated in that partnership. The goal is to make people with dementia as visible and present as their comfort and safety allows,” she said.
According to the release, Haselow expects to purchase the therapy dolls and pets soon, and have the new kits available to loan to library patrons by the end of the year. The kits can be checked out for a period of up to three weeks at a time and can be renewed one additional time.
AARP Wisconsin is awarding one grant each month throughout 2022 to projects across the state that are designed to improve communities and make them better places for everyone to live, work and play as they age, the release stated, adding that judges selected Whitewater’s project after reviewing dozens of proposals.
“These grants are exactly what the name describes – short-term, low-cost solutions that could have a remarkable impact on the shaping of local communities. This project hits the nail right on the head,” Amber Miller, associate state director of Community Outreach for AARP Wisconsin, was quoted as saying in the release.
In its third year, AARP Wisconsin launched its “Small Dollar, Big Impact” grant program in 2020.
The program has set a goal of helping proposed projects move forward in rural and urban parts of the state.
Those interested in learning more about the grant program, which is open to some nonprofits and government entities, are encouraged to visit: www.aarp.org/WIsdbi.
Irvin L. Young Memorial Library Outreach Services Specialist Suzanne Haselow demonstrates the use of a gardening-themed memory kit. The kit is one of six of varying themes available at the library. A grant recently awarded to the library by AARP Wisconsin will allow for the purchase of additional kits. Contributed photo.
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