Sunil Raghavan, a Singapore based IT Professional and a Table Tennis enthusiast, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2015. He has a 6-year-old son diagnosed with a rare genetic condition called Cardiofaciocutaneous (CFC) syndrome. Neither of these conditions has a cure. The diagnosis altered Sunil as a person. “My outlook towards the journey of life changed and my motive to live got much more meaningful,” says Sunil. Table Tennis has helped both Sunil and his son improve their respective conditions. Sunil’s experience with table tennis and how it had improved his life was something he wanted to share. Together with the help of a few friends, they formed Table Tennis for Good (TT4G) Limited. Playing table tennis—even at an absolute beginner level—develops muscle endurance, hand-eye coordination, motor skills, cognitive performance, memory, upper body strength and has many other benefits. TT4G has developed a series of programs focused on older adults, with resources and materials available to get people of any ability playing. “We are all responsible to contribute towards our community in our own little ways,” says Sunil.

A NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT & CEO

Jim Goettler, author of the book Everything Non-Profit Toolkit, first heard about SĀGE on Facebook. After becoming a mentor, he connected with 2 young women from New York who had started a non-profit during COVID-19. Their idea was to send plants to older adults in nursing homes, and they needed organizational expertise to help scale their idea. Jim said: “That’s where I was able to step in. They were good people, doing good things and I wanted to help these young ladies build their business. To me, this feels like a simple continuum and natural progression of how things should be. They can now take the knowledge I passed on to them, add their understanding, and then pass it along to the next person, who will share it with the next.”  Sandi, a resident of Sydney, Australia, contacted the platform after reading about SĀGE. She said, “I don’t know what I can teach, but I want to be involved.” Sandi took on the role of sharing the SĀGE platform with Australian newspapers and recruiting new Sages. Helping the platform grow fills her with joy: “I can’t remember the last time I was this excited about something. It gives me butterflies!”

Stift & Papier is a friendship project that connects letter writing volunteers with residents at care homes and hospitals. This volunteer-led project has received significant media attention in Germany, capturing the hearts and minds of many. 92 year old Edith lives at a retirement home in Altena, Germany. Her children live only an hour away and visit regularly - at least they did until the Covid-19 lockdowns began. Missing the connection with her family, Edith became very sad and lost her appetite. Worried about Edith and other residents, the facility director contacted Stift & Papier after learning about their initiative. Edith soon received a letter from Daniela who lives in a small village in Southern Germany with her 7 year old son. Working with a caregiver at the retirement home, Edith was able to respond and express her joy at receiving the letter. 27 other residents of the facility have also received letters from many corners of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Currently more than 200 retirement homes and hospitals have joined the initiative. Because of the awareness around this project, writing and sending letters by hand has become a trend amongst younger generations.

Imagine you’re the casting director of a musical with a seemingly impossible task: Find 30 seniors in Vienna who are willing to sing and dance on stage. With a callback rate that usually lies between 5–7%, it was clear that at least 500 seniors would have to be found to cast the best 30. The entire city would be notified of this innovative cultural act—and the most renowned singing and dancing coaches in Austria had been hired to train the amateur actors' group. No pressure!  All of your hope lies on a city-wide media and PR campaign to invite seniors to come to the casting; a campaign that was announced in traditional media channels like print, radio and local TV. A few weeks pass and only 150 people apply. You’re trying to think outside the box: Let’s target the grandchildren! You start running a campaign on Instagram titled “Sign Your Grandma Up to Perform On Stage”. Zero response. Then it hits you: Target seniors on social media with a video campaign! A few days pass and then, suddenly, the applications start pouring in. 600 submissions in 10 days! You probably already guessed which media channel helped to reach the goal: Facebook.

In Japan, cities like Masudo are raising public awareness among residents and businesses, especially those that regularly come in contact with older adults. Cafes and dementia drop-in centers are the types of places where the Mimamoriai service team distributes stickers that can be attached to wallets, keychains and umbrellas—which help police and attentive citizens locate the families of people who have wandered from their homes. Manami Y. is a local welfare official who often patrols Matsudo’s suburbs. She says, “If we see an older house that has the curtains drawn during the day or a big pile of newspapers in the mailbox, we go and check.”  She also knew exactly what to do when she spotted a woman pushing a bicycle who, despite the rain, did not have an umbrella. The woman told her she was on her way to her hometown—which was hundreds of miles away. The orange Mimamoriai sticker on her coat allowed Manami to call the woman’s daughter, and Manami was able to talk with the woman until her family arrived to escort her home. Manami alone has helped 14 of the 180 dementia patients in Matsudo safely reunite with their families.