This morning our small group of quilters hurried to get our fidget quilts done. After making sure everything was sewn on correctly and nothing would fall off, we made our way to Harmony Village, which is in Moorestown. Harmony Village is a space dedicated to serving those living with Alzheimer’s disease and other memory conditions such as dementia.
Luckily for us, the weather outside was just perfect for our 10 minute walk. Once there, we were greeted by Lauren and another nice lady who would soon guide us to two of the four neighborhoods in the complex.
At first, some of the residents were confused by the group of students standing before them, but once we explained our quilts they wanted to check them out for themselves. The way we put together these quilts would allow people with Alzheimer’s to touch and feel the different textures to occupy themselves. While some did not express much emotion at first, we could tell they were happy after noticing the non-stop movement of their hands on the quilts. We did visit another group of residents who were on much earlier stages of the illness, who gave us many compliments and even some jokes!
With the feeling of accomplishing something as great as this, our merry group of quilters said goodbye and headed to Main Street for some lunch. Afterwards, we met in Mrs. Casne’s room to watch Still Alice, an Academy award-winning film about a renowned linguistics professor who was diagnosed with Early-Onset Alzheimer’s disease. What a great way to end a great day!
-Mathew