Retirement Home Staff Helps Seniors Fulfill Their Bucket-List Wishes

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The WEL Wishes program at Wesley Enhanced Living helps seniors make their bucket-list wishes a reality, writes Stephanie Farr for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The program has been running for two years across Wesley Enhanced Living’s six retirement communities in the Philadelphia area.

“We want our residents to wake up with purpose and look forward to their day,” said Lisa Haino, director of marketing at Wesley. “Just because you’re aging doesn’t mean you stop living.”

The lucky seniors who get their wishes fulfilled are nominated by staff members who listen for hints. The seniors can also apply to have a wish fulfilled.

“Everybody has a story, but sometimes you get so wrapped up in the everyday you don’t really think about what that is,” said Haino.

Wishes range from attending a Lady Gaga concert to heart-pounding excursions requiring a doctor’s approval, such as skydiving or visiting Terror Behind the Walls at Eastern State Penitentiary.

Some wishes are small, but immeasurably meaningful to the people behind them.

Nettie Weiss, 99, simply wishes to get her ears pierced again for her 100th birthday, so she could wear a pair of earrings her husband gave her before he died.

Read more about the program in the Philadelphia Inquirer here.

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