We started with two residents: the first, an elderly man in his 90’s who appears to be sleeping most of the time, began to smile faintly while hearing his favorite music, and when I later removed the headphone he said “more” and was able to tell me which songs he prefers. The second resident, a psychiatric patient with a very emotionless affect, was animated and his face lit up as he recognized the music of Beethoven, which he had specifically requested.
We’ve long touted the amazing success of the work done by Dan Cohen and Music and Memory, his ground-breaking program that brings personalized music via iPods to elderly individuals suffering from dementia, Alzheimer’s and other isolating conditions and living in nursing homes and other similar settings.
We think so much of this program that a few years ago we encouraged Zissie and Sandy Gitel, founders of our Israel-based grantee, In Their Shoes, to introduce M&M in that country. Last month when we met the Gitels in Israel they expressed some disappointment that the program was not catching on in Israeli nursing homes the way they would have liked. This morning’s email proves that much has happened since we met only four weeks ago. The above comments come from a nursing home in Tzfat that has been using the program for only two weeks but has already had success.
Certainly is music to our ears…

Who can ever forget their first bike? Their first crush? That first teacher who inspired you to reach for the stars?

“Firsts” are somehow always indelibly etched in our memories, hopefully most often imbued with warmth and positivity.

Fraidy Reiss, founder of Unchained at Last, a grantee for the past few years, was featured in an article written by Samuel Freedman appearing in Saturday’s New York Times. From the day we first met Fraidy over two years ago, heard her story of escaping an arranged marriage and her wish to help other women whose cultures forced them into similar circumstances, we knew that this was an effort we wanted to help. Within a few days, Fraidy and Unchained received their first funding, a grant from the Good People Fund which started them on the road to success. Further funding to Unchained has continued and has also included direct help to some of Unchained’s clients who struggle with serious and often life-threatening situations.

So, it is with great pride that we share the Times’ article…
http://tinyurl.com/m965ton

We are proud of Fraidy and all of the brave women who choose to take this journey to freedom.

Carmela* has called Manhattan’s Morningside Heights her home for over a decade. Though certainly the “big city,” for many of the elders living in the neighborhood, in good part thanks to LiLY’s  Morningside Village program, it is a community where many know each other and stop to chat with neighbors and shopkeepers. At age 91 and with very little English in her vocabulary, Carmela managed with the help of her sister with whom she resided.

That all changed recently, when the landlord tried to evict her after her sister’s death. Fortunately for Carmela, Lifeforce in Later Years-LiLY, one of the Good People Fund’s grantees, was able to come to the rescue. Thanks to our recent grant which allowed Irene Zola, LiLY’s dynamic founder, to hire a Spanish speaking social worker, Carmela was able to prove that she has indeed resided in the apartment for the past decade and all eviction proceedings ground to a halt. Carmela’s daughter says, “I didn’t know we still have people with big hearts. You are like family. I was tormented, and my mother was in tears. Now I am consoled. We can sleep better. God bless you and everyone from LiLY!”

*a pseudonym