Hearts & Minds Activity Center

Our Project and Fundraising Goals:

Due to COVID-19, the Hearts & Minds Activity Center was required to shut-down on March 17th. Though Santa Clara County allowed the Rosa Elena Childcare Center to reopen at a limited capacity, our Adult Day Care Program continues to be impacted by the main facility shutdown. Isolation is acute and devastating for persons with dementia and their caregivers, affecting their physical and mental health. Hearts & Minds continues to support our clients and families, as well as seniors with dementia and their caregivers in the broader community, by hosting all activities virtually through Zoom. Currently, 4.5 hours of activities are provided Monday-Friday. Activities include, but are not limited to, writing, games, music, trivia, show and tell, exercise, discussion, and cooking. Also provided are virtual individual sessions, services in Spanish, and intergenerational activities. 

The funds provided by the A Community Thrives fundraising initiative would be used to support the virtual services that Hearts & Minds developed and launched in response to the mandated shutdown of adult daycare services. Hearts & Minds was accepted by Adobe and the Taproot Foundation to receive pro bono professional assistance to increase and standardize the virtual services, increase numbers served, and provide guidance to other organizations wanting to implement virtual services in the U.S. and beyond. With your donation, Hearts & Minds can continue enriching the lives of individuals affected by Alzheimer’s disease and related conditions by providing safe, nurturing intergenerational services and a rich network of support, all while meeting the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

A Caregiver's Note of Thanks:

“I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate the Zoom sessions. May is wonderful. My husband happily says hello to her whenever we log in and although he doesn’t actively participate he watches, laughs, and makes funny faces from time to time. I’ve enjoyed them as well and actually learned quite a bit, both from May and from the interesting things she shares. The Zoom sessions have also helped me cope. Seeing a friendly, understanding face is a lifeline. This service has added a much-needed structure - and friendly faces - to our days.”

Our Mission: 

Founded in 1984, The Hearts & Minds Activity Center (formerly Respite and Research for Alzheimer’s Disease) operates two collaborative programs: the Hearts and Minds Activity Center Adult Day Care Program and Childcare Center. The former is a licensed, large capacity, social adult day program supporting individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia – the first in the country and only in Santa Clara County. Located in and serving Santa Clara County, Hearts and Minds provides care for up to 90 clients per day, six days per week, for up to 10.5 hours per day. Hearts & Minds childcare is a play-based early childhood learning program that intersects daily with the Adult Day Care Program to conduct intergenerational enrichment activities.

Since inception, Hearts & Minds has served over 6,000 individuals living with dementia and their families: FY 2019, served 179clients, providing 92,583 hours of respite to caregivers. Hearts and Minds boasts a 94% satisfaction rating. 99% percent of caregivers reported a reduction in their stress level as a result of services offered, with 93% citing the Hearts & Minds as vital in helping them improve their ability to care for their loved one. 100% percent of caregivers indicated that the attendance of their loved one helped maintain or stabilize their functioning abilities, and 94% felt that the Adult Day Care Program helps to delay nursing home placement.  

Our Services:

Our socially-focused program is designed to maximize and maintain our clients’ physical, social, intellectual, and emotional functioning.  We offer a range of activities in both small and large group settings, including music, board games, card games, sewing, gardening, dancing, writing, pet therapy, Tai Chi, cooking, yoga, painting, trivia, and current events. Outside entertainment, such as Hawaiian dancers and local musicians, visit the center at least weekly, and the Santa Clara County Library’s Bookmobile, a mobile library service, provides clients with access to a variety of resources every two weeks. Additionally, Hearts and Minds offers haircut, podiatry, and shower services to clients of the Adult Day Care Program.

Central to our program are the intergenerational activities between the children of our onsite childcare and clients of our adult day program which occur on a weekly basis, Monday through Friday.  These interactions provide our clients with an opportunity to nurture, teach, and care for our students, who in turn learn empathy and receive encouragement and support.  Activities vary from day-to-day and include gardening, singing, arts and crafts, Storytime, dancing, and games.