CROWDFUND

How very 2013 of me!  I am putting together a "crowdfunding" request!  

What is "crowdfunding"?  People put together proposals targeting a money goal they want to reach, with the help of loved ones, friends, acquaintances & total strangers.  For me, the beauty isn't asking countless (literally) others to contribute to a goal dear to my heart.  For me, it is an opportunity to tell the Universe, "Hey, Universe!  THIS is what I want to be doing with the rest of my life."  If others think it's worthwhile, worth chipping in some of their own money, well that is terrific & will help me do what I utterly believe is my spirit-guided rest-of-life work.  But that is secondary to being able - in writing, as publicly as it gets - my 2nd greatest heart's desire.

So, what IS this crowdfunding request of mine?  Well, I've only just started seriously setting it down from my head & heart onto paper.  This is my first stab, and even it is only just sort of a build-up, a "why this is important to me" and "what I want to be able to accomplish."  Yes, it is long & wordy, but that is so me.  Will work on whittling it down to the basics of what's in my heart, what guides my here & now footsteps.

Here goes, a VERY rough draft of jotted down thoughts ...

FACT:   I stink at in-home senior care.  My strength is in get-‘em-outta-home care, creating moments of joy within an increasingly too-rare social context.

FACT:  My mother's super-tight budget couldn't have squeezed in my services for even one of the outs & abouts we went on every day.

FACT:  Most “senior residences” suffer from a Catch-22 - - to serve the maximum number of residents, especially those with memory challenges, administration & staff focus on managing rather than individualizing care.

FACT:  Too often, older people still relatively sound of mind & body (albeit less mobile) fall through the cracks of attention until they're labeled with a health issue.  At the same time, olders dealing with serious mental challenges rarely receive the high level of activity & engagement with life that studies indicate helps reduce/alleviate the effects of dementia, including Alzheimer's.    

FACT:  I am called to become as knowledgeable as possible a resource for what I call “healthy anarchy”  –  getting olders out of  largely institutional (however lovely) settings into nature, experiencing seasons & special moments, having FUN.

These are the 5 core reasons I feel called to promote a basic "healthy anarchy" in helping olders, including those with mental challenges, to be elders rather than just older.  They are just the tip of the "eldering" issues that keep me awake at night. 

WHAT do I feel called to become, to do?  

For a start, I want to...

• Translate what I accomplished for my mother & other grannie clients into tools anyone can use to socially engage older relatives & friends, without costing a small (or large) fortune. 
• Share ways family & friends can determine what activities/places in their area are senior friendly.
• Lead workshops in ways family & friends - especially younger family members - can become effective legacy coaches.
• Become a knowledgeable,  respected advocate for  “aging in place” – volunteers helping seniors stay in their longtime homes. 
• Create a ripple effect -  from local communities to increasingly larger ones - of neighbors effectively engaging with seniors, whether they live in residences or in longtime home. 
• Gather together a circle of “holistic” senior care providers – from yoga to internet instruction & support -  whose greatest strength is a heart-commitment to helping elders live as full, rich & varied a life as possible. 
• Trumpet the importance of facing “end of life” issues long before retirement age, including how to  live every day with the end in mind. 

HOW would that look?  I'll give that a ponder next.