Seniors who are social distancing to stay healthy during the pandemic are now gaining much-needed companionship, thanks to the Dreamweaver Foundation which has provided ultra-loud, easy-to-use devices that connect them directly to loved ones using Facebook Portals. Most seniors who received a Portal were connected to loved ones with a clear picture and sound for the first time in months and the grateful reactions have ranged from “tears of joy” to an overwhelming sense of relief.
Founded in 2012, the eight-year-old nonprofit organization usually grants wishes to seniors with chronic or terminal illnesses, like hot-air balloon rides or race car driving. “We still wanted to serve seniors in a special way” said Cheri Mastny, Dreamweaver Foundation executive director. “Many families had been resorting to window visits or calls on smartphones which can be both expensive and difficult for seniors to operate.”
Staying connected has been difficult for everyone during the pandemic, but especially for seniors. The Dreamweaver Foundation’s donations are changing that for hundreds of seniors in the greater Omaha area. “It looks like an 8×10 picture frame,” Mastny said. “The apps come on it and they are super large, so it is very easy to touch, easy to use. It has a big speaker-subwoofer in the back, so the sound that is produced from the Facebook portal makes it easy for someone that is hard of hearing.”
With a Portal, the buttons are super large, so it’s very easy to touch and use. It has a big subwoofer speaker in the back, so the sound is much better for someone who is hard of hearing. Calls can be made seamlessly to and from smartphones and tablets. Staff and families have continued to see the positive impact on seniors that have received Portals. The portals are giving seniors back their independence and family time.
Since seniors began using them, Dreamweaver has been overwhelmed with requests for more, so they launched a fundraising campaign to purchase more of the Portals. The CONNECTING HOPE CAMPAIGN hopes to continue to spread joy to seniors. They are trying to make Portals possible for seniors and their families to create shared memories, despite the distance. Each Portal is $179 and is purchased through donations.
There are other ways to help by making lower donations which help the “Dream Team” deliver tubs full of fun to care facilities during the pandemic. Playing cards, coloring books, crayons, nail polish, building blocks, board games and more have been delivered throughout the pandemic. The organization is also asking for volunteers who can send postcards, make phone calls and letters of love to seniors.
Their mission is made possible with the help and dedication of Dreamweaver Volunteers and they are always looking for more volunteers. You can make a dream come true and enrich the life of a senior in our community simply by giving of your time. Opportunities to volunteer may include being a Greeter, Personal Shopper, Fundraiser, or Dream Maker. The Dreamweaver organization trains all volunteers to provide the best experience possible. Due to their work involving seniors and sensitive information, they require all potential volunteers to complete orientation and training as well as pass a background check.
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Roughly half a million children in the U.S. could lose their eligibility for free school lunches under an administration proposal. Children whose families qualify for food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, can automatically get free breakfasts and lunches at school, but the administration’s new proposal would tighten eligibility for SNAP. The U.S. Department of Agriculture released an analysis this week showing that nearly 3 million people could lose access to food stamps under the proposed rule, including almost 1 million children.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released an analysis that says as many as 982,000 children could be affected by the change. Children whose families lost SNAP benefits would have to submit an application to determine if they qualify for free or reduced-priced school meals. About 45% of them — some 445,000 kids — would still qualify for free meals but about 497,000 kids who currently get free meals — would have to start paying a reduced price of 40 cents for school lunch and 30 cents for breakfast, since they come from families with an annual income of between 130% and 185% of the federal poverty level. Another 40,000 kids who currently get free meals would need to pay the full price because their family won’t qualify for the program anymore.
The National School Lunch Program serves roughly 30 million students, including about 20 million free meals daily. For those who don’t qualify for free or reduced price meals, the average price of lunch was $2.48 for elementary school students in the 2016-17 school year, according to the School Nutrition Association, which represents cafeteria employees and vendors.
According to the USDA, the proposal could cut $90 million annually from the cost of its school lunch and breakfast programs. They noted that the number of children being affected by the proposal could be less because some schools offer free lunches to all students regardless of eligibility. But the schools that offer this program requires 40% of students to be eligible for free meals, and the rule change could mean some schools no longer meet that threshold.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has said tightening access to SNAP would close a “loophole” that allows families receiving temporary assistance benefits to automatically get food stamps too. The USDA is not proposing changes to the income rules for the program. It says it is addressing a loophole that gives eligibility to people who would not have otherwise qualified.
The USDA released the details of its analysis after it was criticized for failing to report the impact its SNAP rule change could have on children’s access to free school meals. The agency has said the change is intended to make eligibility rules more consistent across the country, since states can grant people eligibility if they were enrolled in other assistance programs. Critics argue that the change will increase food insecurity among low-income families and add to states’ administrative costs.
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Twelve people are dead after a mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, California. Police identified the gunman as 28-year-old Ian David Long, a Marine veteran who had deployed to Afghanistan and had a history of mental health issues. Long was found dead inside the kitchen area of the bar when the SWAT team entered the building. Most of the victims were college students attending country music night. Authorities said as many as 22 people had been injured and taken to the hospital. Nine men and three women were killed in the shooting including a 27-year-old Navy veteran who survived the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting during the Route 91 Harvest festival.
Police say that at around 11:20 p.m., Long shot security guard Sean Adler, 48, just outside the bar with a legally purchased .45-caliber Glock 21 semi-automatic pistol with a banned high-capacity magazine. Long entered the bar and began throwing smoke bombs before firing approximately 30 rounds into the crowd of more than 150 people. Patrons dropped to the ground, dashed under tables, hid in the bathroom and ran for exits, stepping over bodies sprawled across the floor.
Three minutes after the first 911 calls, 54 year old Ventura County Sheriff Sgt. Ron Helus and a California Highway Patrol officer arrived at the scene. The officers heard gunshots coming from the building. Helus ran inside and was immediately shot by the gunman. The Highway Patrol Officer dragged Helus outside to safety but died from his injuries hours later. The other victims included Cody Coffman, 22; Alaina Housley, 18; Justin Meek, 23; Daniel Manrique, 33; Noel Sparks, 21; Jake Dunham, 21; Blake Dingman, 21; Kristina Morisette, 20; Marky Meza Jr., 20 and Telemachus Orfanos, 27. Orfanos’s family said he had survived the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest festival that left 58 people dead.
In fact, many regular patrons of the Borderline Bar & Grill were survivors of the Route 91 mass shooting. A regular patron, Brendan Kelly, 22, was among those who survived both the Vegas massacre and the shooting at the Borderline. “It was our home for the probably 30 or 45 of us who are from the greater Ventura County area who were in Vegas. That was our safe place where we went to the following week, three nights in a row just so we could be with each other.”
Police say that Long frequented the Borderline Bar & Grill and had previous run-ins with the law, including a disturbance in April at Long’s home where he lived with his mother. Police say he was irate and acting irrationally. He was evaluated by mental health professionals but was cleared by the specialists. Long served in the Marine Corps and was on active duty from August 2008 to March 2013, according to Defense Department records. Long had been married in 2009 in Honolulu, Hawaii, but was divorced in April 2013 in Ventura County, California.
Friends of Long described him as a loner but said he was stable and didn’t show any signs of aggression. Neighbors tell a different story, with some saying they’d frequently heard him arguing with his mother at all hours and others keeping their distance because he seemed troubled. Police have not disclosed a motive in the shooting.
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In an effort to broaden the company’s “social interaction” with our clients and FaceBook fans, Daily Trivia Questions are posted on both of our business pages. Here are the weekly standings for this past week, and the winner of the Sunday night Weekly Drawing for an AmEx gift card!
Congratulations – To this past week’s Trivia Contest Winner!! Our latest contest winner for the weekly FaceBook HealthInsurance4Everyone/Health & Life Solutions, LLC Trivia Contest, drawn randomly by computer late Sunday evening, February 19th, 2017 was:
STEPHANIE BECKWITH
Jefferson, OH
Winner Of A $25.00 AmEx Gift Card
Each day, fans of either of our company FaceBook pages (HealthInsurance4Everyone or Health & Life Solutions LLC) are able to test their skills with our Daily TRIVIA QUESTION. The first 20 winners who post the correct answer to the TRIVIA QUESTION, will then get entered into the weekly drawing held late on Sunday evenings for a $25.00 Am Ex Gift. Card
Weekly Gift Card winners will be posted in our blog at this site. Remember to become a FaceBook “fan” on either of our company pages to enter and post your answers.
Here are the daily contestants from last week’s Trivia Contest that were entered into the Sunday drawing:
2/13/17
Phyllis Hines
Dean Bruss
Angela Nicole
Amy Hopper
Jennifer Ramlet
Deborah Farris
Derek Jennings
Karen Bondehagen
Sharon Swenson-Nelson
Alisa Jones
Leslie Wagner Hobson
2/14/17
Tiffany Greene Elliott
Kimberly Snyder
Nitasha Shank
Christina Radcliff
Beth Cleveland
Paula Rivers
Nai Merri
Stephanie Beckwith
Jade Good
Mikayla Oakes
Cheryl Hall
Alicia Dansby
Kayla Clemons
Jennifer Ramlet
Kendra George
Mary Alice Ford
Jennifer Ramlet
Emily Rice Bowersock
Anna Nichols
Adaria Johnson
Anna Ashley Pinder
Leslie Wagner Hobson
Amy Stonger
2/15/17
Kathi Taylor
Kizzy Alvarez DeSantis
Christine Acoba
Tabitha Sinks
Lori Capobianco
Misty Shallcross
Joanie Waterman
Kathi Taylor
Alicia Dansby
Michelle Rayeske-Jeske
Judy Custer
Jennifer Sparks
Sandra Sue Blanton
Alisa Jones
Kim Floyd
Michelle Hughes
Adaria Johnson
Sheila Carvell
Amy Hopper
Kayla Clemons
2/16/17
Nai Merri
Holly Cajigas
Christina Domingue
Rhonda Nicholson
Phyllis Hines
Brooke Scott
Amy Hopper
Tina Casto-Shafer
LaKishia Wagers
Dale Fish
Kendra George
Kimberly Foster
Jessica Miller
Tiffany Greene Elliott
Lotorya Patrick
Melissa Barnes Walker
Kristina Rosson
Lisa Wright
Lori Capobianco
Bea Patrick
Trish Marks
2/17/17
Sherri Kidwell
Katrina Worford
Brian K Henson
Tara Lennox
Priscilla Shimp
Megan Akins
Sheila Carvell
Alexandra Vindiola
Kayla Hernandez
Alicia Dansby
Brandi Chaney
Tessa Davis
Althea Thomas
Mikayla Oakes
Carla S-Paige Williams
Kizzy Alvarez DeSantis
Dawn Raasch
Susanne Killion
Kassi Krick-King
Melissa Turner Baker
2/18/17
Nikki Hunsaker
Christina Domingue
Geri Rus
Kristen Raia Bowman
Joanie Waterman
Anna Nichols
Brandy Marie Williams
Phyllis Hines
Christina Radcliff
Dean Bruss
Tiffany Greene Elliott
Ashley Nichole Busse
Crystal Young
Kizzy Alvarez DeSantis
Kristina Harris
Cheryl Hall
Lori Capobianco
Heather Marie Stacy
Kristina Harris
Chelcie Malow
2/19/17
Heather Jacques
Lisa David Carr
Kizzy Alvarez DeSantis
Kimberly Snyder
Kathleen Hickman
Jakara Jackson
Allison Frederick
Patricia Oehlert Vazquez
Juanita Williams-Jones
Jeanine Jones
Paula Rivers
Priscilla Shimp
Cheryl Hall
Kimberly Taylor Hall
Susanne Killion
Katrina Worford
Lisa Back
Jodi Stevens
Wayne Gallas
Jackie Hicks
Jane Peterson
Jennifer Downing
Crystal Hazelwood
Be sure to watch both of our FaceBook pages for your chance to win and enter again next week, with questions posted daily on HealthInsurance4Everyone or at Health & Life Solutions, LLC!!
Remember that if you try your hand at answering the Trivia Question several days each week, your odds of winning the Sunday weekly drawing are much better. You may also find that if you “Like” both of the business pages, you will receive faster notifications of the other players as they post their answers to compete with you!
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At Health Insurance 4 Everyone, we not only want to improve our customer service but also interact with our customers on a social media level that wasn’t available before. Interested in connecting with us? Look us up on….
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