Hi. My name's Eric. My wife, Sheryl, and I lost Sheryl's mom, Trish, to Alzheimer's in 2019. We know how hard it can be to connect with a loved one living with dementia, so we started Songs & Smiles to help keep families connected during the journey.

As I helped care for Trish, I learned many creative ways to communicate and connect. Trish and I shared a special connection with magazines. I worked for a magazine for many years, and she always looked forward to seeing our latest issue. When we were in the waiting room at the doctor's office, we enjoyed flipping through the pages of whatever magazines were at hand.

After we had to move Trish to a memory care facility, we continued to subscribe to her favorite monthly magazine, and I had the joy of delivering it to her at the start of every month. Her eyes lit up when she saw each new issue.

People living with dementia are usually much more familiar and comfortable with magazines than with digital media. Print affirms human connection as it conveys permanence, credibility, and authenticity.

With your support, we will produce a quarterly printed magazine for families to share with loved ones living with dementia. Content will be timeless and intergenerational, featuring original and curated pictures, stories, poems, and jokes. Each 24-page issue will focus on a specific theme (i.e. baseball, gardening, camping, childhood, cats, dogs, summer, winter, woodworking, flowers).

Cost to print and distribute 4 issues (500 copies of each issue) = $6,000

Cost to print and distribute 4 issues (2,500 copies of each issue) = $22,000.

We plan to offer subscriptions for $10 per year. We project being able to cover costs for this project when we reach 2,500 subscribers. Donations will cover additional free distribution. Our long-term vision is to raise enough money to produce monthly issues with distribution to hundreds of thousands of people living with dementia.

Please give today. Your donation will help people living with dementia better connect with their family, their friends, and their own joyful memories.