Meet Crafts For Causes

We were lucky to catch up with Crafts For Causes recently and have shared our conversation below.

Crafts for Causes, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

Both my maternal and paternal grandfathers were diagnosed with dementia. I decided to volunteer at a local memory care facility to learn how to interact with my grandparents and support this community. I began doing tasks such as performing room checks, assisting during mealtimes and leading exercise time. However the task that stuck with me the most was creating memory boxes. I saw how simple, yet impactful, this craft was for the residents. Therefore, I wanted to involve others in making this craft and expand memory boxes to other facilities in the area. Thus, my idea for Crafts for Causes emerged.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

Crafts for Causes is a volunteer program that supports the dementia community. Volunteers make memory boxes for residents with dementia at local memory care facilities. Volunteers are given forms filled out by the resident’s family members which detail the resident’s favorite things. The volunteers then print out pictures of these favorite things, glue them on to a poster board, and write the resident’s name and concise captions describing the pictures. These poster boards are then inserted into the wall-mounted boxes outside of resident’s rooms. It is so fulfilling to help evoke important personal memories in these residents. Not only do these boxes intend to help preserve the long-term memory of these residents, but they also allow for the residents to have emotional conversations about the things most important to them.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

One of the most important skills that were vital in bringing my idea to life was dedication. It may seem like you are not getting anywhere, but learn from your mistakes and stick with it. The results are worth the difficult process so keep reminding yourself of your goal. Another critical skill was time management skills. It takes a lot to start an organization, but it takes even more effort to withstand it. Learning to make good use of your time, while not pushing yourself to burnout is a difficult line to balance. Finally, being willing to communicate with people is necessary to propel your idea to success. Fostering new connections is critical to take your idea to the next level. Additionally, working with others will help you gain more exposure and allow your operations to move smoother.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

The biggest challenge I am facing is getting enough participants. I have put an advertisement out in my school newspaper which seems to have helped. However, I would like to increase participation to people outside of my school as well. I have created both an Instagram and Facebook account to try and bridge this participation gap, but so far it has not been very effective. I look to continue spreading the goal of my organization through word of mouth and marketing opportunities such as this interview.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://craftsforcauses1.wixsite.com/crafts-for-causes
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/craftsforcauses1?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61563472322688&sk=about