Our name may have changed, but our mission has not: to bring smiles and joy to chronically and critically ill seniors who have brought smiles to others throughout their lives. It is a way we can say thanks and make wishes come true in the senior years for those who have spent their lives making dreams come true for you and me.
Dreams for Seniors Charity Inc., formerly the Twilight Wish Granting Foundation Inc., is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which I founded in 2005. Since its founding, eighteen dreams have been granted, and two lives have actively been saved by this dream-granting organization.
The first dream was granted on July 19, 2005, to 100-year-old Opal. Her dream was three months of apartment rent and a month of free breakfasts.
An overnight trip to Wildlife Prairie State Park to stay in the caboose was granted to a woman whose father worked on the railroad.
A walk-in shower allowed a shut-in woman to take her first shower in two years. Her tub and toilet were falling through the floor, and she would have been seriously injured had that happened. But after reinforcement of the floor and the new shower was installed, her safety was no longer in danger.
Due to a long-standing leak from her gas stove, natural gas filled the house of a lady returning home from a shelter care stay. She was sitting in her kitchen, unable to smell the awful “rotten egg” smell. Dream volunteers arrived, evacuated her from the home and called AmerenCILCO. They responded immediately, saying that the gas buildup was so large that it was just days or even hours before her house might have exploded. She received a new stove, and her house was ready for her return home.
A new computer enabled a woman with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and a potential double lung transplant candidate to communicate with others having the same problem, as well as researching the latest treatment options.
A World War II fighter pilot was honored at a reception at the Peoria Air National Guard, where he participated in flying the flight simulator.
Mary Ann had breast cancer that had spread throughout her body. Chemotherapy left her weak and tired, unable to do housework. Her dream granted was a housekeeper coming two hours a week to do housework, and she was able to save her strength for the things she really wanted to do.
More corporate and individual volunteers are needed to continue making dreams come true for seniors. For more information, visit www.dreamsforseniorscharity.org. TPW
The owner of Home Health Care Plus, Inc. in Pekin, Debbie Davison is a registered nurse and holds a master’s degree in Nursing. The Medicare-certified company has been serving clients and their families in central Illinois since 1994. For more information visit www.homehealthcareplus.net or call 353-7300.
