It has been a true gift to create and spearhead this program, answering a need our island and state had not addressed! I hope you will join with me in providing this no-cost service to every person with memory loss!
Remember Thru Music, originally iPods For The Elderly, is a no-cost program providing customized music on MP3 Players to those diagnosed with memory loss. With over 60 iPods and MP3 Players already distributed to kupuna throughout the Big Island and neighbor islands, Remember thru Music is now a fiscally sponsored program of the North Kohala Community Resource Center, a 501c3, non-profit.
Personalized music brings joy to Kay
Remember thru Music, established in 2016 and initially funded through the annual Christian Women’s Gathering, closely mirrors the national program developed by Music and Memory. (www.musicandmemory.org) The utilization of an iPod, or most recently, an MP3 Player customized with the music of a person’s life, often has the capacity for those with memory loss to remember who they are, who their family members are, what they did in work and hobbies, as well as communicate again…even after years of silence! Extensive research indicates that the portion of the brain that remembers music is the last portion lost to Dementia and Alzheimer’s…that hearing the music of one’s life has the ability to open the door to those memories when little else can.
A playlist for Shirly helps to reduce her anxiety!
There are dozens of facilities on our island that can benefit from this program. Because many suffering from memory loss stay home with their families, there is also a need to educate island communities on the life-altering benefits of personalized music for their loved ones. Our partnership with the NKCRC now affords us the opportunity to apply for grants, while also offering corporate and personal donors a tax deduction. The first grant received under the umbrella of the NKCRC was from the 2019 Clark Realty Foundation. Remember thru Music has also been the recipient of a group donation from the Waimea/Kohala 100 Women Who Care, and most recently received a generous grant from Friends of Hawaii Charities.
For further information on the Remember thru Music program, to become a participating facility, request an MP3 Player for a family member, or to make a tax-deductible donation, please contact me at 808.747.2365, [email protected] or visit www.RememberThruMusic.org.
