GRAND Magazine - January/February 2018 - 7

it's never 2 late

Villlagers sing praises to donor, Front Porch, Mesa villagers welcome Jack, opening of the Dorothy York Senior Center, Francis in New Orleans and more.
each other. Along with the narrative, Francis provided multiple
videos of people chanting thanks to Jack York, man of wisdom,
for his generous donations to Cameroon. Are you kidding me?
After the insanity of the whole experience started to fade, the
question hit me; what would this man and his organization do
if they were given more money, say $20,000 or $30,000? With
that in mind, and our company's management having a spirit of
gratitude, we invited Francis for his first visit to the US. We went
on a two-week whirlwind trip covering Louisiana, Texas, Arizona,
California, Colorado, Maryland, Washington, DC and New York. It
was magical, not only seeing the joy and exuberance of Francis,
but also seeing our country open her arms and welcome this
gregarious man from 7000 miles away. The fundraising was a
success. The $30,000 in donations funded the first senior center
of its kind in Cameroon, to be named Dorothy York, in honor of
my mother.
This is a story that has not ended. Rather, it's a series of beginnings. If $500 can grow to $30,000, what's the next step of the
journey? Why not keep thinking bigger?
One of the painful realities in Cameroon that Francis educated
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JANUARY FEBRUARY 2018

me about, was the lack of bathrooms in the village schools, a scenario that causes thousands of girls to drop out of school before
high school graduation.
Francis was back in the US earlier this year. We traveled to 15
states and are well on the way to funding latrines in several of his
villages. Senior living communities here in the US are partnering
with the villages, and we hope that this will be just the beginning...there is a need for so much more.
This April I'm heading back to Cameroon, hopefully with
an army of colleagues, to help build bathrooms. You can
join us! Energy and creativity are in high demand. Send an
email to dale@in2L.com or check us out on GoFundMe
So, the message is simple. Whether you send the $500 check
or receive the $500 check, we are all change agents on this marvelous planet of ours. And if you keep your eyes open and look
beyond your current situation, you might start the next revolution to make things better. And if you're lucky, you'll have a goat
named after you!

Greetings from GRAND's new associate publisher.
This is a new title for me. I'm one of the founders
of It's Never 2 Late (IN2L). For almost 18 years IN2L
has brought engagement technology to senior living
communities. Our focus is to help residents who
physically and cognitively struggle with conventional
technology, and help them come alive through
meaningful content.
When we started IN2L, some thought we were crazy. How
would technology be relevant for people dealing with dementia?
But we've won the doubters over...our technology is in 2,500
communities throughout the United States and we're finishing up
another year of 30+% growth.
Everyone can benefit from today's technology. It doesn't
matter how old you are or where you are cognitively; we all want to
stay relevant. We're excited to bring our message of engagement
through technology to GRAND, which has also been changing the
aging paradigm for years now. I will be highlighting stories of
remarkable residents and remarkable senior living caregivers, and
how technology is bridging the generations.

https://www.facebook.com/GRANDmagazine/ https://www.twitter.com/grandMmagazine http://frontporch.net/our-communities/retirement/ http://www.in2l.com/ https://www.gofundme.com/cdvta-cameroon-latrine-project/donate http://www.in2l.com/

GRAND Magazine - January/February 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GRAND Magazine - January/February 2018