On a cold November day in Wisconsin, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of people living with dementia and their care partners had a unique experience – a visit to a local zoo. Some family members from afar also joined them in this special event. The participants had signed up in advance, paid $10, and before the Zoomed program began in the morning, local participants received a box lunch delivered to their homes along with a craft kit for an activity after lunch.
During the zoo program, two zoo staffers entertained and educated the group with the stories of a turtle, macaw, rabbit, and ferret, all of which had been rescued from people who abandoned their pets. Along with their lunches, each participant received an original piece of turtle art that was created using non-toxic paint on a turtle’s belly, allowing the turtle to crawl on paper and create a unique piece of art. Later on Zoom, the group engaged in a craft project with two students from the Occupational Therapy Assistant program at a local technical college.
The participants raved about the program, describing it as a special and interesting experience, particularly during a time when every day can feel like every other day. They compared it to the memory cafés, which they used to attend in person and found enjoyable and different from their usual schedules filled with medical appointments.
Illustration by @shlokaettnaart for @artists4longtermcare
Fox Valley Memory Project (FVMP), a nonprofit organization in northeast Wisconsin, organized and conducted this zoo program. Established in 2012, FVMP strives to build a dementia-friendly and inclusive community in the region, a mission I’ve been privileged to support as a co-founder of the organization.
Our first day-long outing took place in 2014, with poet Gary Glazner, founder of the Alzheimer’s Poetry Project, who happened to be in Wisconsin training long-term care staff at the time. Approximately 55 people living with dementia and their care partners joined the excursion on a large tour bus, exploring various locations in northeast Wisconsin.
The day was filled with delightful experiences, including a visit to a famous candy shop where we sampled treats and meandered around making purchases. Lunch followed at a restaurant, and then we boarded a boat in Green Bay for an excursion on the Fox River. Throughout the day, Gary Glazner captured participants’ comments and composed a poem about our experiences that he shared during the bus ride home.
After the success of the first outing, FVMP continued to organize day-long bus trips to interesting places. Photos of these joyful experiences were shared on FVMP’s Facebook page for all to enjoy. The participants appreciated these normalizing experiences, which provided some relief from the burdens associated with dementia.
COVID disrupted all the FVMP programs that had sought to make our community more dementia-friendly and inclusive.
- Our memory cafés had to shift to Zoom from their previous in-person meetings at multiple locations.
- Our chorus, which had brought joy to people living with dementia, also moved to Zoom and had to cancel multiple performance invitations.
- Other programs, including support groups and cognitive stimulation programs for early and mid-stage dementia, transitioned to online formats.
Unfortunately, these changes meant that some people were unable to participate due to technology or connectivity issues. To address this, we made regular phone calls and distributed small gift bags to ensure that people didn’t feel forgotten.
As a co-founder of FVMP, I have found great joy in getting to know these resilient individuals. My book, “Dementia-Friendly Communities: Why We Need Them and How We Can Create Them,” was meant to promote communities where people could meet in person for creative engagement and enjoyment, a vision that COVID has challenged. Despite the difficulties, I have seen the profound impact of organizations like FVMP, which has creatively responded to bring joy to individuals living with dementia and their care partners.
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