About Earth Angels for Dementia
Mission of Earth Angels for Dementia
Caring for CaregiverS… and Community!
… Providing Training, Support Groups, Stress Relieving Activities, and Resources to assist caregivers in caring for their loved one with Dementia and during the Pandemic.
Values that C..A.R.E.
C for Care
Care for Caregivers via training, support groups, and stress relieving opportunities of those impacted by Alzheimer’s, Lewy Body Dementia and other brain matters. And Caring for the Caregivers of the Community who worked so diligently to keep us safe during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
A for Arrange
Arrange fun, unique, entertaining, and informative ways for members of the larger community to give and receive in support of the cause - Caring for Caregivers… and Community!
R for Rejuvenate
Rejuvenate the Hospice, Palliative, Social Work professionals, First Responders, Healthcare Heroes and all professionals who provide care by providing opportunities to boost moral, relieve stress, and provide exceptional compassionate care for themselves.
E for Encourage
Encourage all Caregivers who administer compassionate care to someone with Dementia or anyone in our community. Giving care is an opportunity to receive the truly rewarding experience, when Caregivers are provided with the confidence, information, and available resources to do so.
Earth Angels’ Evolution
It all began one snowy day in January 2018 when we were stuck in the house and had nothing to do!
My daughter, Hilary, decided to go out in the 14 inches of snow here in New Jersey to make a snow angel.
Disappointed that no one would join her, she came into the house and came up with an idea to do snow angels for a good cause...
…and she chose a cause very close to our hearts, Dementia.
It doesn’t snow all that much where we live, so we expanded the concept to Earth Angels for Dementia. This way people could create angels in the snow, the sand, the mud, or in any other medium...
…all they had to do was to use their imagination! Then they would take a picture of their angel, post it on Social Media and make a donation. Within a short week, we had a website that would accept donations and Earth Angels for Dementia found its wings!
Donations poured in from all over the country, and we even got submissions from across the pond in England and Spain!
In March of 2018, Hilary and I decided to take the quantum leap and create a formal Non-Profit to devote to the Earth Angels we call Caregivers. We ensure that all funds donated by Earth Angels for Dementia are used for respite and training opportunities.
In June of 2018, we began hosting fun out of the box FUNdRaising events here in New Jersey that also support our fundraising efforts.
In early 2019, we were blessed by the purchase of a historic building in heart of Mays Landing, NJ. This newly acquired home base will house our one of a kind Caregivers Retreat Program, as well as out administrative offices.
So there it is...
…our evolution or maybe better said a revolution...
…devoted to assisting all those Caregivers out there caring for loved ones with Dementia…
…Earth Angels!
We wish to thank each and every one of you out there who have created Earth Angels and donated on behalf of this worthy cause! The love and kindness that has flowed into our lives through this project has been enormous and we hope to share that love back to the patients and Caregivers on behalf of all of you!
With gratitude for the wind beneath our wings!
🙏 Cheryl Caliri & Hilary Van Horn 🙏
The Original Earth Angels
Cheryl Caliri, Co-Founder of Earth Angels for Dementia
has had a substantial and diverse career that spans 35+ years.
She began as a Reservationist and Sales Manager with Pan American World Airways. She then worked for more than two decades as a Marketing Executive at Haddon Holidays, one of Hawaii’s premier Travel Wholesalers, until the Company was purchased in 1998. Next, Cheryl served as President of Global Vacation Group’s, Vacations by Globetrotters, where she managed more than 300 employees in their Chicago division. Later, Cheryl moved back to New Jersey where she switched gears, owning and managing Artistic Glass and Doors; a service that designed and installed decorative and stained glass in residential, casino, commercial and church settings.
Cheryl has been a full-time Caregiver since 2016 when her husband, Ralph Caliri, was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia. She knows all too well how society often fails to support Caregivers and has made it her life’s mission to ensure Caregivers everywhere are supported, celebrated and not alone.
Hilary Van Horn, Co-Founder of Earth Angels for Dementia,
has Caregiving in her DNA and knows first hand what it is to live with a chronic illness.
Her journey began in high-school working after school in Child Day Care and then on to an Assisted Living Facility. Later she obtained credentials in Phlebotomy and as an OBGYN Medical Assistant in New Jersey and Arizona, assisting doctors caring for their patients through pregnancy and delivery. Most recently, Hilary taught Massage Therapy and opened the renowned Immersion Spa in the Borgata Casino and Spa in Atlantic City as a member of the Management Team.
In 2016 her children and she moved in with her parents due to her chronic pain autoimmune issues and to assist her Mom to care for her Step-Dad who was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia. It is her personal experience with the monumental challenges of the Caregiving of a loved one in Hospice and living with a chronic pain that inspires her creative ideas that she shares on Earth Angels for Dementia Social Media.