Spiritual Eldercare Wins a 2026 Maude’s Award!

I am thrilled to announce that Spiritual Eldercare has been chosen as a 2026 Maude’s Award winner!

This national recognition, formally announced yesterday, has me a bit stunned and extremely grateful 🥳

Maude’s Awards for Innovation in Dementia Care

The goal of Maude’s Awards is “to enrich the quality of life for persons living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and their care partners—celebrating and inspiring innovative practices of care and sharing these practices with the wider dementia care community.”

Named for founder Richard Ferry’s wife, Maude, who lived with Alzheimer’s, the Seattle-based organization annually recognizes organizations and individuals in various categories, including Making Connections, Supporting Care Partners, and Cultivating Health.

I am incredibly honored that Spiritual Eldercare is included among these luminous 2026 awardees:

  • Alzheimer’s Poetry Project, a National Endowment for the Arts-supported project founded by Gary Glazner. APP “guides readers in using poetry and the arts to increase interaction and encourage amusement and joy in dementia care.” 
  • Diana and Sandra Gonzalez-Morrett, who founded Go-Mo Creatives in 2025, to “reduce dementia stigma through the arts.” Their Pets of FTD Awareness Calendar “makes a misunderstood disease [frontotemporal degeneration] more approachable, helps people feel seen and connected, and turns the love of pets into a powerful tool for awareness.”
  • Great Lakes Tribal Council in Lac Du Flambeau, Wisconsin, which offers the Together Strong Brain Health Program, working with Tribal communities to “strengthen dementia awareness, caregiver support, risk reduction, and culturally responsive systems of care.”
  • Nikki Jardin, founder of Mirador Magazine, a beautiful, dementia-friendly, ad-free quarterly publication that “incorporates large print, sans serif font, and an uncluttered layout intentionally designed for easier reading.” (As a former magazine editor, I think Mirador is amazing!) 
  • Karen Xin, cofounder of Memory Garden, “a Chinese-language dementia social engagement program … [that creates] opportunities for participants to share their stories, perform for community audiences, and volunteer alongside family and neighbors, … placing meaningful contribution at the heart of dementia support.”
  • Respite for All Foundation, of Auburn, Alabama, a nonprofit that “guides churches and organizations in how to build successful respite communities that provide social support for families living with dementia” — now in 20 states and counting.
  • Honorable mention:
    • The Arc Jacksonville Specialized Aging Support program, which “serves and advocates for individuals with intellectual and developmental differences to achieve their full potential and to participate in community life.”
    • Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo Memory Enrichment Program, a first-of-its-kind, free, monthly program for people living with dementia …[to] “foster a safe and welcoming space to connect with nature and wildlife and to build community through socialization.” (Isn’t that cool? I want to visit!)

Thank you, Maude’s Awards, and my fellow honorees, for your amazing work in reducing dementia stigma, improving care and support, and celebrating the amazing lives and contributions of people living with dementia.

Photo by Philip Oroni for Unsplash+

16 thoughts on “Spiritual Eldercare Wins a 2026 Maude’s Award!”

  4. instantlysoul58112cf047 says:
    Reply
    instantlysoul58112cf047's avatar

    Wow! Congratulations! That is wonderful. Elisa, you are so very deserving of this award and many others. Your services are seen and enjoyed around the world which is an incredible feat.  You are definitely using your God given gifts to change people’s lives and bring them closer to God every week. At the end of your weekly service, I always say to our aged care residents, “I hope you enjoyed the service today. We are so lucky to be able to watch it here every Sunday.” Kind regards, Sally Australia

    Liked by 1 person

    • Elisa Bosley says:
      Reply
      Elisa Bosley's avatar

      Thank you, Sally! I am so amazed and delighted thinking of your dear elders all the way over in Australia! (P.S. My husband and I will be visiting Melbourne for the Australian Open in January 2027 … I’m excited to see even a small part of your country!)

      Liked by 1 person

  5. leftdelightfullye8f3cef181 says:
    Reply
    leftdelightfullye8f3cef181's avatar

    A heartfelt congratulations Elisa from way down southwest coastline of Victoria, Australia ❣️I truly appreciate your Alzheimer & dementia friendly worship services as 1 of 6 community church leaders sharing worship services

    Liked by 1 person

  7. catwildlyc455093b5f says:
    Reply
    catwildlyc455093b5f's avatar

    Congratulations on your 2026 Maude’s award for recognition of your outstanding work in providing worship services designed for use with people living with dementia. Thank you as well for allowing worship leaders to make use of a wealth of material with acknowledgement and without cost.  What a gift to so many!  I have used your services for a number of years in several communities and personal care homes.  Thank you and may you be blessed for all you have done for so many.   Blessing as you journey,   Reverend Steve Wilson  

    Like

  8. ljhoefnerumcdiscipleship says:
    Reply
    ljhoefnerumcdiscipleship's avatar

    Yea, you!Rev. Dr. Lisa Jean HoefnerOlder Adult Ministry Coordinator Discipleship Ministries l The United Methodist Churchwww.UMCdiscipleship.org 

    Liked by 2 people

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.