For Their Thoughts® Foundation and PosterMyWall Form Partnership

Betsy Hall, founder of For Their Thoughts® Foundation and Ric Goell, co-founder of PosterMyWall, are partnering to help families of dementia patients. For both, it is an act of love out of personal experience with family members who were diagnosed with dementia.

Betsy Hall is a professional with an extraordinary vision and empathy for those who are suffering from dementia and their caregivers. Her passion for her avocation comes from personal experience. Betsy’s mother and grandmother were both diagnosed with FTD or frontotemporal dementia, the same type of dementia that afflicts Bruce Willis. Hall shared the role of caregiver to both women, so she has first-hand knowledge of what caregivers of dementia patients experience.

“I know how alone and without direction my father, siblings and I felt as we helplessly watched dementia strip our mother of everything that made her human,” Hall stated. “I will not stand by quietly knowing that other families feel the same way.”

A civil engineer turned advocate, the profound impact Hall chooses to make in her avocation comes through the For Their Thoughts® Foundation (FTTF), a nonprofit 501(c)(3), she founded in 2020. FTTF focuses on delivering direction and relief to family caregivers while championing local and national initiatives to alter how dementia is perceived and addressed.

Through FTTF, Hall works to improve the lives of dementia caregivers by providing Care For the Caregivers (CFTC) relief packages. Families nominated by healthcare professionals receive a relief package which includes a small financial grant plus a personalized roadmap of support resources and relief options. From palliative care, respite options, or merely connecting live-in caregivers and family members with individuals or communities in their area who have walked the same journey too – FTTF builds networks and traction for families so they can focus their attention on spending quality time with their loved ones. FTTF’s efforts are nationwide wherever healthcare professionals may refer families needing help.

“We take the time to listen and understand each family’s unique situation. We research, make the calls and compile care package options for each family. Ultimately, we deliver a package of specific, local resources focused on each family’s needs,” states Hall.

When Hall was introduced to Goell by an acquaintance, she realized that PosterMyWall could provide a valuable addition to the relief packages for caregivers.

PosterMyWall was originally started as a way for parents to create collages of their childrens’ sports activities. Goell soon found that the tool was being used by churches, restaurants, nightclubs and almost any organization to help create marketing graphics. Today, PosterMyWall is the only design and marketing suite especially for small businesses. They are a one-stop solution for graphic and video design, social media publishing and email marketing. With over four million unique monthly users, the company has millions of templates that can be customized to create posters, posts, videos, flyers, and more in minutes.

Hall saw another way PosterMyWall could be of use by providing an opportunity for caregivers to have photo or memory collages of familymembers and friends made to help remind dementia patients who the important people in their lives are. Collages would then be included in the relief packages Hall sends to family caregivers.

Goell did some research and agreed to help. “With 16 million dementia caregivers in the U.S., there certainly is not a shortage of need for memory collages,” states Goell. “We are committed to giving back to the community and especially to help families dealing with such a debilitating disease.”

The first nationally representative study of cognitive impairment in more than 20 years has found that nearly one in 10 U.S. adults over age 65 have dementia. The study, conducted in October 2022, led by researchers from Columbia University and included University of Michigan scientists, also found that another 22% have mild cognitive impairment. For Their Thoughts® Foundation and PaperMyWall are joining forces to bring nationwide awareness about dementia in all its forms.

“One woman who received a collage also had a lap blanket made from it for her husband who suffers from FTD,” explained Hall. “Recipients can’t thank us enough for our combined efforts to make life better for dementia patients.”

To learn more about FTTF or to donate, go to www.fortheirthoughts.org. For more information about PosterMyWall, go to https://bit.ly/PMWmarketing.