As calming nature sounds filled the room, Jeffrey Greenstein, a Sacramento Public Library volunteer, passed around a plush black bear for ACC Care Center residents.
“This is one of our less popular animals with humans at Yosemite,” he said.
Upon receiving the bear, resident Mary Endicott’s face lit up. “Oh I have one of these!” she said.
Tina Ross, another resident, smiled and said, “I’ve seen a bear before at Triple S Camp.” She then described her camping experience to the other residents as they looked at photos and books together.
Every season, Sacramento Public Library volunteers like Jeffrey bring these kinds of experiences to the ACC Care Center. They are part of Tales and Travel Memories, an acclaimed nationally recognized library program that engages nursing home residents on an hour long imaginary trip to a popular travel destination. This imaginary trip is made possible through stories, music, objects, and photos of the selected destination. On this day, it’s Yosemite Valley, but in the past, destinations have included Hawaii and San Francisco.
“A lot of the residents have been to Yosemite,” said ACC Activities Assistant Kathie Williams, “so it’s taking them back to memories and back to happy times with their families.”
Top Image: Sacramento Public Library Assistant Cathy Jackson shows residents Elaine Highsmith and Inez Crenshaw a diagram of a bear. Left Image: resident Katherine Chin looks at a pine cone with grandson Brandon and ACC Activities Assistant Sirin Tang, Right Image: volunteer Jeffrey Greenstein shows resident Mary Endicott a type of rock commonly found in Yosemite.
Cathy Jackson, a Library Assistant at the Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven branch, emphasized the importance of the program: “The mission is to really connect with a portion of our local community that doesn’t have access to our resources. It provides an opportunity for the participants to be connected, and we’ve noticed that when we discuss these destinations, it unlocks their memories and brings them to the surface.”
This was especially true when residents had a chance to hold and look at objects that could be found at Yosemite, like pine cones and different kinds of rocks. As Endicott looked at a rock and studied its color and texture, she said to activities assistant Sirin Tang, “I had these on my front porch for years.”
Brandon Chin was able to share this experience with his grandmother Katherine Chin, an ACC Care Center resident. Although Chin lives in San Diego, he visits her at the Care Center almost every day when he is in the area.
He said, “This is my first time seeing this program. I think it’s great, especially since they have all these different objects to interact with.”
Tales and Travel Memories has become a staple program for many libraries across the country, including Sacramento Public Library, although Jackson said only a handful of branches are actively implementing the program. In 2017, Tales and Travel Memories was recognized as a Library of Congress Best Practices Honoree, and resources for both librarians and caregivers are available online at http://talesandtravelmemories.com.
Although Jackson and the library volunteers enjoy the hour they spend with the Care Center residents, their goal is to be able to visit more often, which can be done with more volunteers.
“We would love for volunteers to join Tales and Travel Memories,” she said. “It’s really a great way to give back to the community. With more volunteers, the participants can have more one-on-one time.”
Williams said she enjoys seeing how happy the residents are when the Sacramento Public Library volunteers come: “It’s like family coming to visit. They get revitalized.”
Add a Comment