A big thank you from our team at Rick’s Heart Foundation for Long & McQuade’s support of local seniors through their Used Devices Drive! Thank you for choosing our organization, and for the awareness brought to our Heart for Music program. Every poster up in L&M stores and each item donated makes a difference in the lives of Canadian seniors. A special thanks to Sheri Katz, who organized this Drive at BC-MB locations, and who created and distributed posters.
Over 20 Long and McQuade stores in BC, AB, SK, and MB put up posters and collection boxes in their stores, bringing awareness for the Heart for Music program to their local community, and collecting a few used devices.
Our Heart for Music Program impacts thousands of seniors in over 190 Care Homes stretching from BC to MB. With new seniors coming into these homes each month, the need for personal music is always present. We are so grateful for the local, community support that L&M have provided in the individual Canadian cities that we serve. These seniors are our mothers, our uncles, our family, and this is helping to bring them the quality of life that they deserve.
As technology changes and the number of seniors living in long-term care increases, the need for support and funding is rising. Music equipment for seniors impacts many areas of their lives, and many studies have been held to prove its’ effect.
The Impact: In 2016, a Canadian study estimated that there are 564,000 individuals living with dementia, and this number is increasing year by year (Alzheimer Society of Canada, 2016). Along with the progressive decline of overall functioning, individuals with dementia also experience both psychological and behavioural symptoms such as agitation, anxiety and depression (Mortby, Maercker & Forstmeier, 2012 as cited in Weise, Töpfer, Deux & Wilz, 2020). Personalized music interventions have shown to be beneficial for individuals with dementia because of the ability to access their long term memory (King, Jones, Goldberg, Rollins, & MacNamee, 2019 as cited in Weise et al., 2020). Moreover, listening to music that is meaningful stimulates certain areas of the brain responsible for relaxation and positive mood (Särkämö, 2018; Särkämö et al., 2012 as cited in Weise et al., 2020).
Our Founder, Rick Diamond, expressed many times to our team how grateful he is that Long & McQuade chose to support our Heart for Music Program. He is impressed that individual managers were eager to display a poster and promote music for seniors in their stores. Rick’s goal is to spread the word of the need and struggles that Canadian seniors have, and L&M’s contribution has been so valuable to us! Thank you!
Music is the literature of the heart; it commences where speech ends. – Alphonse De Lamartine
