Silver Award: Happy Healthy Life Wheel

As a girl scout in Heart of the Hudson's troop #60114, me and two other girls in my troop decided to embark on a journey surrounded by the theme of Alzheimer's awareness.

From left to right: Lianna Maley, Riley Finnegan and Mikayla Simmons

As a group, we have seen the tragic effects of Alzheimer's has on its victims and their families. Although we weren't qualified to find a cure for this disease, we decided to create something for patients to do in order to slow down the effects of dementia. This idea then evolved to the Happy Healthy Life Wheel.

The Happy Healthy Life Wheel

The Happy Healthy Life Wheel was designed with activities to increase memory-building skills and improve mental health. To gain a deeper understanding of Alzheimer's, we met with a local psychologist who is very knowledgeable in the subject. She talked about many different types of beneficial practices for Alzheimer patients to do so we can incorporate them into our project. Things such as singing a song or talking about what you see or hear are simple activities for patients to be able to do to combat some of the effects of dementia. But this wheel isn't just for patients to do by themselves but with care providers and family. It provides a relaxed setting for bonding between family members while creating a therapeutic experience for the patient. After much thought, we decided to place this wheel in a community garden at Woodland Pond retirement home, so that local Alzheimer residents can benefit from it.

News article clipping from the Woodland Ponds Newspaper

The day we put the wheel in the garden, we invited all residents with Alzheimer's to interact with us and the wheel for an afternoon. We had snacks, tea, and music provided on a gorgeous sunny day. It was amazing to see the residents interact with the wheel. They genuinely enjoyed the wheel and it sure put a smile on our faces to see everyone so happy. The residents I met there shared such wonderful stories and this project allowed me to make connections I never would have thought to imagine.

As months went by we heard that the residents loved the added serenity the wheel brought to the beautiful garden. Even non-Alzheimer residents started using to unwind and do with their visiting family members. We as a troop were so honored and glad we were able to do something helpful for our local community members. Even to this day, 5 years later, we come back to visit the residents we worked so hard to help.