Since 1970, we’ve been celebrating Earth Day to put a special focus on the environment and our roles in protecting the natural world we live in. Today, Earth Day is celebrated by over 193 countries and billions of people worldwide.

While Earth Day was designed to be a single day’s event, in recent years it’s taken on greater significance and has expanded to include awareness events throughout the entire month of April. Everyone can take part in Earth Day events and activities. Residents of memory care communities are no exception.

At Porter Place Memory Care in Tinley Park, Illinois, residents and staff members decided to celebrate Earth Day with something special. They got to work planting flower seedlings in bio-degradable coconut pots. The goal was to give them out to local members of the community who stop by to visit. The residents planted 64 flowers and, by noon, half had already been taken!

The event was covered by local Tinley Park newspaper, The Patch, which sent a reporter to speak with Meredith Morris, community relations director for Porter Place. “Volunteering to help the greater community has always been important for our residents,” Meredith told The Patch. “Gardens can make a difference for all of us by promoting a healthy, sustainable planet.”

It was important for the team at Porter Place to engage the residents in a purposeful activity for Earth Day that not only supports a clean environment, but reaches out to the greater community to get them involved as well.

“We wanted the event to represent nourishing the earth, in the same way that we really try and take care of our own residents in this community,” Meredith said.

At Anthem Memory Care communities we always strive to engage our residents in meaningful activities that involve the greater community whenever possible. We believe that a connected community can better serve the needs of all its residents. A big part of that is giving back in creative ways to encourage relationships between our community and those around us.

If you are caring for a loved one with dementia, look for opportunities for them to give back to your greater community. It will help restore a much needed sense of purpose and help them keep connected to you, your family and the world around them.