Skip to content

Initiative aims to make dreams come true

Representatives of Nurse Next Door North Shore and the West Vancouver Seniors' Activity Centre Keeping Connected programs have teamed up to collect and make North Shore seniors' dreams come true.

Representatives of Nurse Next Door North Shore and the West Vancouver Seniors' Activity Centre Keeping Connected programs have teamed up to collect and make North Shore seniors' dreams come true.

To do so, they're working with the Dream On Seniors Wish Foundation, an independent charity, founded in Vancouver by home care company Nurse Next Door, according to a press release.

Nurse Next Door North Shore is excited to help raise funds, collect dreams and work with the foundation to help fulfill a few local seniors' wishes, says Danny Birch, Nurse Next Door North Shore managing partner, in the release. They believe in helping seniors celebrate aging, and the foundation provides a great opportunity to connect with seniors in the local community and remind everyone that they're never too old to dream, he adds.

Dreams will be collected until Aug. 4 with the winning dreams being announced during the Keeping Connected Program barbecue taking place Aug. 13, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the seniors centre.

The Dream On program fits well with the Keeping Connected programs at the seniors centre because they're both embracing the "live long, live well" philosophy, says Jonie Vajda, West Vancouver Seniors' Activity Centre outreach co-ordinator, in the statement. The seniors in the Keeping Connected programs come to the seniors centre because they have had a setback and require a bit of support to reconnect with their community. Once they're involved, they start to thrive, meet new friends, gain confidence and learn new skills. The Dream On program gives seniors an opportunity to think beyond these daily programs to their very important bucket list, she adds.

There are three requirements a dreamer must fulfill in order to submit a dream to the foundation: The dreamer must be 65 or older; the dreamer must need a little help, whether it's financial, personal or even emotional; and the dreamer must be a storyteller.

Dream requests can be filled out and submitted at the seniors centre or online at dreamonseniorswish.org. To make a donation to the foundation, visit the Nurse Next Door North Shore office, or visit the foundation website.