The mission of Twilight Wish is to honor and enrich the lives of seniors through intergenerational Twilight Wish celebrations. We build awareness and advocate for senior needs.
Our vision is to make the world a nicer place to age, one Twilight Wish at a time.
One way we do this is through our IEP Wish Granting Initiative, which directly matches local schools and students with nearby nursing homes residents.
Students perform the entire wish granting process, including learning about the seniors and finding out what their wishes are, to fundraising, and then providing the wishes at a celebration event.
IEP provides direct benefits to seniors, to students, and to the community, in the following ways:
IEP’s Benefits to Seniors:
- Reduces isolation, loneliness, sadness, and depression
- Uplifts, inspires, and restores hope
- Acknowledges seniors, helping them to feel respected
- Validates life experiences
- Results in increased dignity and self-esteem
- Promotes improved mental health and overall well-being
IEP’s Benefits to Students:
- Gain valuable life experiences
- Gain a respectful understanding of aging and aging issues
- Increases their compassion and patience in normal day-to-day experiences with seniors (i.e. driving, in checkout lines at the supermarket, walking, etc.)
- Learn fundraising, marketing, negotiating, purchasing and special events planning skills
- Learn the value of volunteerism and philanthropy
- Live longer and happier lives
- Research shows volunteers are more likely to make more positive life choices, and the earlier in life volunteerism begins, the better the outcome.
IEP’s Benefits to Community:
- Promotes a caring, sharing community and a cooperative social environment
- Increases awareness of elder issues and needs
- Enhances an atmosphere of generosity and leads to additional spontaneous acts of kindness towards the elderly
- Heightens awareness and need for students to enter the geriatric field, especially at a time of need with the elder population of 60+ growing at a higher percentage than any other age group
- Builds a community that becomes a nicer place to age as culture change occurs and respect increases