OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Staying connected has been difficult for everyone during the pandemic, but especially for seniors. The Dreamweaver Foundation’s donations are changing that for hundreds of seniors in the greater Omaha area.
Since 2012, the Dreamweaver Foundation has been granting wishes for terminally ill seniors.
“We never say a dream is too big or too small,” said Cheri Mastny, Executive Director, Dreamweaver Foundation.
Everything from family photo shoots, hot air balloon rides, even driving a race car!
“We really take time to get to know them, get to know their history, get to know their past and present and try to formulate a dream around the things that are special to them,” Mastny said.
But the pandemic halted those memorable experiences for seniors.
“We really had to take a step back and say how do we continue to do business? How do we continue to serve seniors in a different way?” Mastny said.
They decided to give seniors Facebook Portals to help them connect with their loved ones.
“It looks like an 8x10 picture frame,” Mastny said. “The apps come on it and they are super large, so it is very easy to touch, easy to use. It has a big speaker-subwoofer in the back, so the sound that is produced from the Facebook portal makes it easy for someone that is hard of hearing.”
“Even with phones, we struggled with that a lot in the beginning,” said Aleeshia Exline-Huck, Activity Director for Midlands Living Center. “But the portals go up in volume so much they could hear so a lot of them when we would initiate the first couple of calls, when they could hear both sides, would just break down into tears. It was just a very emotional and beautiful thing to be able to watch.”
She said everyone tells her what a blessing they've been.
“I have a resident who doesn’t have function of her arms and she is unable to walk but she is able to use the portal independently through her voice,” Exline-Huck said.
She says the portals are giving seniors back their independence and family time.
“He (a resident) said, ‘My family had been putting pictures on my portal. I’ve got to tell you it’s just been the best thing, now I get to watch my great-great grandson grow up,’ Exline-Huck recalled. “And it just touched my heart because. A lot of people, you hear them complaining about wearing masks in public. I just think for our elderly who go without so much just to stay safe, those are really minor things.”
Dreamweaver Foundation is collecting donations for portals. Each unit costs $179. They’re also accepting nominations for seniors who could use a Facebook Portal.
