We know you received a lot of appeals from worthy non-profits yesterday on Giving Tuesday. However, Friendship Center provides a unique service, the only nonprofit adult day services program in the Santa Barbara community. Here at Friendship Center, we were busy having tacos this Tuesday. So we decided to make it Giving Wednesday instead. Don't let Friendship Center be an afterthought to your holiday giving this year. If you give a gift by December 13th, you'll receive a special message from our members. Your year-end gift will help support members like Luisa, 87, who has Alzheimer's and lives with her grandson, Luke, her sole caregiver. While he worked during the day, Luisa was home alone. With no one there to remind her, she was not regularly eating or taking her medications. In addition, Luisa was restless at night and paced around the house, keeping Luke awake with worry that she would again turn on the stove or get into the cabinets. As also happens in many with memory loss, Luisa was losing her second language, English, and had become withdrawn and fearful. After six months with in-home care services, Luke discovered that Luisa was being physically abused by her caregivers. He looked for other care possibilities—in-home and residential—but there were no other options in his price range that he felt could be trusted to provide the care he needed for his grandmother. Luke knew about Friendship Center, as he had positive memories of Luisa’s husband attending until the very end of his life, but he didn’t think it would be affordable. However, our family services staff worked with Luke to complete the necessary applications to qualify for services at a reduced fee. If you came to visit Luisa at Friendship Center today, you’d think she was training for a marathon! In our secured outdoor courtyard, she has space to walk all day. With plenty of exercise and fresh air, she goes home tired and sleeps through the night, and so does Luke. At Friendship Center, Luisa receives quality care. Her medications are administered and meals are provided on a regular schedule during the day. As she’s making her “laps” of the courtyard, she’ll dance along to music that’s playing, or stop to smile and hold the hand of someone she meets. With Luisa able to attend five days per week at a reduced rate--subsidized by donors like you--Luke has seen the friendly, social person his grandmother used to be come out again. Your support of members like Luisa and caregivers like Luke is so important to keep our community strong. Won’t you please consider making a gift this year-end season? Your contribution ensures that families in our community have access to vital respite services for their loved ones with a dementia diagnosis. Click here to make your fully tax-deductible donation Thank you!
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