March 20, 2025 • 18 mins
In this episode of Advice From Your Advocates, Attorney Bob Mannor interviews Reagan Hopkins, founder of One by One Subscription Boxes—a unique service designed to support individuals living with Alzheimer’s, dementia, and memory loss. These monthly subscription boxes are filled with brain-stimulating activities like painting, gardening, puzzles, and creative projects, all carefully crafted to engage seniors and promote cognitive stimulation.
Reagan shares the inspiration behind her business and how interactive activities can create meaningful moments for both caregivers and their loved ones. Learn how these tools help improve quality of life, reduce caregiver stress, and spark joy for individuals in various stages of dementia and memory care.
Whether you’re a caregiver, family member, or elder care professional, this conversation offers valuable insight into supporting seniors with Alzheimer’s and dementia through simple, creative activities delivered right to your door.
🎧 Tune in now to discover how One by One Subscription Boxes are helping caregivers connect, engage, and provide elder care support across the country.
Learn more about One by One here: https://www.onebyonecare.com/
Host: Bob Mannor, CELA
Executive Producer: Savannah Meksto
Assistant Producer: Samantha Noah
Assistant Producer: Shalene Gaul
About our guest, Reagen Hopkins:
Reagan started One by One Subscription Boxes after working in an Adult Day Center specifically for people with Alzheimer's/dementia, understanding the need for more options of brain stimulation for our loved ones affected by these diseases. Because Day Centers aren't a viable option for everyone, One by One Subscription Boxes brings the mental stimulation and activities to your doorstep every month! Reagan's love for working with seniors started from a young age as she spent a lot of time hanging out with her grandparents and visiting elderly neighbors. When not working, Reagan enjoys going on walks, visiting residents in assisted living, reading, and spending time with her family.
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ABOUT US:
Mannor Law Group helps clients in all matters of estate planning and elder law including special needs planning, veterans’ benefits, Medicaid planning, estate administration, and more. We offer guidance through all stages of life.
We also help families dealing with dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other illnesses that cause memory loss. We take a comprehensive, holistic approach, called Life Care Planning. LEARN MORE...
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to Advice from your Advocates, a
show where we provide elder lawadvice to professionals who work
with the elderly and theirfamilies.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Welcome back to Advice from your Advocates.
I'm Bob Manor.
I am a board-certified elderlaw attorney in Michigan and
Advice from your Advocates.
We get to talk to some reallyinteresting people and we've got
a really interesting persontoday.
So we've got Regan Hopkins, whohas 1x1 Subscription Boxes.
Regan, how are you doing?
Speaker 1 (00:28):
I'm doing good.
Thanks for having me on today.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
So let's get started by telling us about what is 1x1
Subscription Boxes.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Yeah, absolutely so.
1x1 Subscription Boxes is abusiness that I started just
last year that specializes inproviding activities for people
with Alzheimer's and dementia tohelp them be a little bit more
stimulated and be a little bitmore entertained.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yeah, very good.
So basically you're trying tomake sure their brain continues
to be stimulated and hopefullyslow down the progression of the
memory loss.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Yep, that's exactly right.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
So tell us more about the boxes.
I'm really interested becausethis is a great idea, and so I
want to.
In a minute, I'll ask you howyou came up with this idea, but
before we get there, I just wantto know what's in the box.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Yeah, absolutely so.
Our boxes are super fun in myopinion, and they vary from
month to month.
So we include around like sevento eight activities and we try
to do an activity for every typeof like hobby or interest.
So we do things like painting,we do gardening in the summers
we do.
(01:36):
We always include some brainteasers in there, like finish
the lyrics to these oldies songs, and we do mix and match games
and then some seasonal crafts aswell.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
That kind of sounds fun for just about anybody who's
getting older, right?
I mean it is designed to helpwith folks that have some form
of dementia diagnosis, butreally it does sound like
something that regular folkswould, especially of that age
range are going to be interestedin.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Oh yeah, absolutely.
And I always hear from peopleyou know, like my grandparents
or whatever, that always say youknow retirement is boring and I
say, well, try a box, they'refun.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Nice yeah, and I imagine it could actually even
be done in a group, like if youinvite your neighbor over and
you do the projects together,potentially.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Oh, yeah, for sure, these activities, since they're
designed to be done for, like, aloved one and their caregiver,
they're really good to includeanother person, build a
connection, build a relationshipwith someone over a little
painting or something.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Nice.
So it's interesting and youknow we'll get into a lot of the
details here but from astandpoint of somebody that's
been working with families thathave somebody with dementia for
25 plus years now that what weknow about dementia isn't still
perfect.
We still lack a lot ofknowledge about it, but there
are.
We're learning more and moreevery year, right, and one of
(02:54):
the things that we have learnedis that some of the neural
pathways in the brain are stillthere and we just have to
activate them.
So when somebody has memory loss, but they still have that
creativity, those neuralpathways of creativity, and so
music and art and those types ofthings, often somebody that
might not be able to rememberyour name or remember what they
(03:17):
had for breakfast would stillremember that song from the 50s
or whatever.
It is right, yeah, and so thisis really important to activate
those.
I remember working with anoccupational therapist that
focused on dementia and she wastalking about kind of combining
the creative brain withactivities, and so one of the
(03:39):
things that she would teachfamilies to do she would say
we'll create a song so when herpatient should be using a walker
, that they were not stable ontheir feet and they should be
using a walker.
They would create a song andthey would sing that song and it
would be one of those sort ofbrain worms where they have that
song in their mind that says,okay, when we get up we use the
(04:00):
walker, whatever it is.
I'm not going to sing for youbecause I'm terrible, but the
idea is that you can use thatcreative brain and that can
really stimulate a lot of things.
And that's some of the thingsthat I think we probably don't
focus on enough with folks withdementia.
We kind of too many times wejust accept that All right, well
, they can't remember, they'rerepeating themselves, things
(04:22):
like that, but they still havecertain neural pathways that
probably are very active and wecan access those and really give
them potentially a betterquality of life with the things
that you're talking about.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Yeah, it's so true.
I never underestimate anybodywith dementia, because they
really are capable of so muchmore than they might look like
they're capable of, and sothat's why I love putting these
boxes together, because I knowthat these people can do them,
and I know that it's going tohelp them in the long run too.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
So I'm really curious how did this come about?
So where did you get anaffection for this?
Where did you get that passionfor providing this kind of help
and providing this kind ofservice?
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Yeah, so it might sound a little bit silly, but
ever since I was super little,one of my favorite things to do
was just hang out with mygrandma, like no matter what she
was doing, I just wanted to,like go run errands with her,
iron her clothes or whatever itwas, and so we'd always be
hanging out.
And then later in life shebecame the caregiver for her mom
.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
And so when she took on that role I was just around a
lot for that too, just as muchas I could be, and because,
again, I just liked hanging outwith them like playing cards we
would curl my great grandma'shair and I just liked being
around while they were gettingtheir tasks done.
And so I think that's where mylove for seniors and senior care
really started was just withthose ladies.
(05:39):
And so after that I just kindof started taking a path where I
was working more in senior careand then I ended up at an adult
day center and I worked therefor a while as their activity
director, and this day centerwas specifically for people with
dementia and I loved itSeriously.
I loved getting up to go towork every single day because,
like I said, I could just seethese people that are going
(06:01):
through a big struggle.
I could just see them growing.
You know, even if they couldn'tremember my name, I would see
them accomplish something ormake a friend that day in the
day center, and that was paybackenough for me.
And then life kind of prompted alocation change for me and I
moved from Southern Utah toNorthern Utah and I was like,
well, I want to see another sideof senior care.
(06:21):
So I started working as anin-home caregiver specifically
for memory care, and I lovedthat too, anyway.
So that's kind of where I gotmy start in senior care with my
grandma and then kind of workedmy way up from there.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
So tell us a little bit more about your service.
So, from what I understand andyou can fill in the details here
it's a monthly subscription, sothey get a box of activities
every single month.
Is that right?
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Yeah, yeah, so I always describe it.
It's a little bit like Netflixyou pay one time every month and
then you get something for it,but instead of being something
on your TV or whatever, this isan actual product that we
provide, so you'll get a packageon your doorstep every month,
from one by one care.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Nice.
And so how do you decide what'sin the box every month?
That must take a little bit ofeffort to make sure that you're
keeping up and staying creative,and all of that.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Yeah for sure.
So my days as an activitydirector were super helpful for
me, just because I draw back tothat a lot and I include a lot
of activities that we did backthen.
So that shows that our boxesare definitely tried and true
and dementia friendly.
So I think about that a lot.
If you've heard of Pinterest, Iscroll on Pinterest a lot and I
(07:31):
just try to get inspirationlike what are some good seasonal
crafts and then I modify themmyself to be dementia friendly,
what about?
Speaker 2 (07:39):
and you and I had a brief conversation before about
this, and I'm just curious.
You know I have talked to lotsof people that they're worried
about developing dementia.
So they haven't.
You know, obviously, as we age,we're all going to have some
memory, you know, lapses,whatever.
That's just normal aging andthat's fine.
And so sometimes there's folksthat they say you know, I'd like
(08:03):
to start doing some things tomake it less likely that I'm
going to develop dementia.
I read a study and we actuallyhad somebody on our podcast
recently that talked about thisthat the majority of dementia,
especially Alzheimer's, isn'tdestiny.
It isn't based on genes.
There is a percentage that islikely that you're going to end
(08:27):
up with dementia and you canprobably lessen that by doing
certain things and eating betterand exercising and using your
mind and things like that.
But the majority you couldactually potentially prevent
dementia by staying active, byeating right, by exercising the
brain.
So what about somebody thatmight be?
You know?
(08:47):
Hey, I just want to considerthese activities.
I don't have dementia, I wantto make it less likely I'm going
to get dementia.
It seems like that would be anappropriate subscription for
them too, right.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Yes, yes, absolutely.
So I hear a lot from peoplejust that retirement is boring
like we don't have anything todo and I just say, well, try a
box, because our boxes are fun,and maybe I had mentioned this
before, but because our boxesare set up to have a loved one,
complete it with their caregiveror a friend or whatever.
Even someone that doesn't havedementia or Alzheimer's, they
(09:22):
can complete it with a grandkidyou know, a neighbor, anybody,
and for sure these are supergreat for brain stimulation.
I complete all of the activitiesevery month just because I
think it's fun and I know thatit's good for my brain too.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
So absolutely yeah, so very good.
So I want to make sure for ourlisteners you will.
Someone can subscribe to yourservice from anywhere in the
United States.
Is that accurate or are youlimited in geography?
Speaker 1 (09:48):
We're available in the lower 48 states.
If you can get mail, you canget a box, so we pride ourselves
on that.
Just being able to reachanybody almost anywhere, yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Very good.
I think this is a great idea.
I'm glad that you came up withit and that you decided to
pursue it.
It takes a lot to start abusiness on your own as a young
person, and I appreciate theefforts that you put into this.
What are some of what are youhoping for for the future?
Where do you see this going inthe future?
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Yeah Well, my first goal is that I would love to get
a subscriber in all 48 states.
So check back in a little bitand I'll let you know where I'm
at with my goal.
But I would love to also haveactivities and options for every
person in each stage of thedisease.
Right now, the boxes that weprovide.
they are best suited for peoplewith mild to moderate stages of
(10:39):
the disease, but I want toprovide something for those
people in the advanced stagesand so right now I've got a
couple of things on the drawingboard that I'm trying to turn
these ideas into a reality andso hopefully those will be
launched in 2025.
So we can be serving everybodyand anybody with the disease and
hopefully anybody's interestsand hobbies, and just help these
(11:02):
loved ones and our caregiversout.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
I imagine that would be very challenging to deal with
the later stages of the disease.
And the thing is, I think thatthat could be really helpful and
important for folks.
One of the things that wealways try to make sure that the
family understands when we'redealing with dementia that one
of the best ways to address,let's say, certain behaviors
(11:27):
that can be uncomfortable isdistraction.
Right that we don't argue withsomebody with dementia, we don't
try to convince them, we don'ttry to explain that their mother
has passed away.
That's unnecessary to gothrough that grief again.
It's to.
I saw you've probably seen this, maybe online there's a number
(11:47):
of celebrities now that aredoing some promotions for the
Alzheimer's Association.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
And one of them.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
I think it was, I can't remember.
It's one of the comedian guysand he talks about when he was
dealing with his, I think,parent or something that he used
his skill set, that he got fromimprov.
And in improv one of the thingsthat they always do is yes and
and so in improv it really shutsdown.
(12:13):
If you're going to do improv ifyou ever watched improv, second
City or anything like that ifyou say no, somebody presents an
idea, you say no, it kind ofshuts everything down.
So in improv it's always yes and, and then you add on to it and
he was saying that that's veryhelpful in dealing with somebody
with dementia is yes, and inother words, we're not arguing
(12:34):
with them, we're not sayingremember this, or do you
remember mom died already, oryou know, whatever that is,
that's not necessary to createthat sort of negativity and it
actually causes more difficulty.
It's the yes and, and one ofthe things that we're always
looking for is sort of adistraction, and I think that
(12:54):
what you're presenting is thatcould be one of those things in
the later stages.
I'm not sure exactly how you'regoing to present that, but it
could be hey, let's get out thebox and do an activity that
could sort of provide thatdistraction.
So if somebody is getting upset, somebody is getting agitated,
we do the yes, and let's get outthe box and do an activity.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
So it sounds great.
Yes, yeah, I love that analogy.
That's so smart to keep that inmind, because it can be tricky,
for sure, but there are skillsthat we can use to make life a
little bit easier for us, right?
Speaker 2 (13:25):
So what's the best way?
If somebody's interested, tellme about it.
Do you have a website?
What's the best way tosubscribe to your service?
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Yeah, so we have a website.
It's called onebyonecarecom andyep, yep, you got it, and so on
.
There you'll see oursubscription plan.
Right now we just have the one.
It's $43 per month and thatincludes shipping, and then,
like I said, those activitieswill vary from month to month.
Something that I startedhearing when I started this
(14:00):
company was that some peoplewere thinking, like well, my
loved one only likes to do onetype of activity, or I'm not
going to force them to do youknow, these other six activities
when they only want to matchcards.
You know these other sixactivities when they only want
to match cards, and so I createdactivity specific boxes, and
those are for the people thatjust want to do one type of
activity.
So right now we offer theartist box, so that's just what
(14:21):
it sounds like.
We do painting and coloring andstamps and anything to do with
art.
We'll put it in that box.
And then we do a mix and matchbox, which is just sorting and
matching and like anything youcan think of, like colors and
buttons and numbers and thingslike that.
And then the last box that wehave right now is called the
botanist box, which is a reallyfun one.
(14:43):
I think we provide all of thesupplies for you to grow your
own plants, so that's kind offun.
And then I like the botanistbox personally just because it's
something that you and yourloved one can go back to every
day, like, hey, let's go checkon our plant.
Hey, let's go water our plant,you know so, yeah, so right now
that's what we have for offering, but hopefully we'll see more
(15:05):
in 2025.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
And I like that you're keeping this cost
effective.
You know $43 a month is not amassive investment and if it
could make a difference in thequality of life of your spouse,
your parent, you know, yourloved one it's.
You know that's a smallinvestment to make an impact on
quality of life.
So that's I love that.
I want to clarify, just becauseI don't want anybody to be
(15:30):
seeking you out and not find you.
So one by one is spelled outO-N-E-B-Y-O-N-E right.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Yep, that's correct.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
It's not the letter one, it's the word, one by one
carecom.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Yep, that's correct.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Very good.
So, yeah, great service, I'mexcited about it.
We have our care navigationteam in my law office that
provides continuing advocacy andcare navigation for our clients
, and I'm going to introducethem to your service and see if
you know where which of ourclients might be able to benefit
(16:08):
from this subscription service,because it definitely seems
like something that can impactthe quality of life and, frankly
, the quality of the life of thecaregiver too, because if
you're just always thereperforming tasks and never have
an opportunity to sort ofinteract with your loved one
anymore, have an opportunity tosort of interact with your loved
(16:32):
one anymore you're solely acaregiver performing tasks, as
opposed to, you know,interacting in a personal way
with your loved one.
That can be very taxing andvery demoralizing, and so I
think your service is greatbecause it creates an
opportunity to have thatpersonal interaction, which is
so important.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Yeah, I totally agree .
I feel like you know, life as acaregiver can be boring and
life as someone with Alzheimer'scan be boring too, and we're
not here to live a boring life,and so hopefully these boxes can
spark a little bit of joy and,you know, for your loved one,
but also for you, hopefully it'sjust a happy side of life.
But I was going to say too,with the website, if there's
(17:11):
questions or anything like that,all of the contact information
just goes to me, since I'mrunning this, and so if anybody
has questions or wantsclarification, then you'll find
my number and an email on ourwebsite and feel free to reach
out.
You'll just be chatting with me, and so that would be great.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
So, so appreciate that you had the insight and
passion to create this service,megan Hopkins from
onebyonecarecom creating asubscription box for activities
for people that are sufferingfrom some form of dementia, and
I think it's a great service andthank you for coming on the
(17:49):
podcast.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
Thank you, bob, thanks for having me think it's
a great service and thank youfor coming on the podcast.
Thank you, bob, thanks forhaving me.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
This has been so great, great talking with you.
If you enjoyed this podcast,don't forget to subscribe to
Advice From your Advocates.
You can find us on any placethat you listen to podcasts.
We're on all of them and so ifyou like to see the people that
are talking, you can go toYouTube and watch us.
(18:14):
Most people, I understand, arejust listening and one of the
podcast sites and that's fine.
So you can find us on YouTubeor manorlawgroupcom, or you can
go to our website atmanorlawgroupcom.
Thanks again, reagan.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
Thanks for listening.
To learn more, visitmanorlawgroupcom.
You're listening to Advice from your Advocates, a
show where we provide elder lawadvice to professionals who work
with the elderly and theirfamilies.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Welcome back to Advice from your Advocates.
I'm Bob Manor.
I am a board-certified elderlaw attorney in Michigan and
Advice from your Advocates.
We get to talk to some reallyinteresting people and we've got
a really interesting persontoday.
So we've got Regan Hopkins, whohas 1x1 Subscription Boxes.
Regan, how are you doing?
Speaker 1 (00:28):
I'm doing good.
Thanks for having me on today.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
So let's get started by telling us about what is 1x1
Subscription Boxes.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Yeah, absolutely so.
1x1 Subscription Boxes is abusiness that I started just
last year that specializes inproviding activities for people
with Alzheimer's and dementia tohelp them be a little bit more
stimulated and be a little bitmore entertained.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yeah, very good.
So basically you're trying tomake sure their brain continues
to be stimulated and hopefullyslow down the progression of the
memory loss.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Yep, that's exactly right.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
So tell us more about the boxes.
I'm really interested becausethis is a great idea, and so I
want to.
In a minute, I'll ask you howyou came up with this idea, but
before we get there, I just wantto know what's in the box.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Yeah, absolutely so.
Our boxes are super fun in myopinion, and they vary from
month to month.
So we include around like sevento eight activities and we try
to do an activity for every typeof like hobby or interest.
So we do things like painting,we do gardening in the summers
we do.
(01:36):
We always include some brainteasers in there, like finish
the lyrics to these oldies songs, and we do mix and match games
and then some seasonal crafts aswell.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
That kind of sounds fun for just about anybody who's
getting older, right?
I mean it is designed to helpwith folks that have some form
of dementia diagnosis, butreally it does sound like
something that regular folkswould, especially of that age
range are going to be interestedin.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Oh yeah, absolutely.
And I always hear from peopleyou know, like my grandparents
or whatever, that always say youknow retirement is boring and I
say, well, try a box, they'refun.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Nice yeah, and I imagine it could actually even
be done in a group, like if youinvite your neighbor over and
you do the projects together,potentially.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Oh, yeah, for sure, these activities, since they're
designed to be done for, like, aloved one and their caregiver,
they're really good to includeanother person, build a
connection, build a relationshipwith someone over a little
painting or something.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Nice.
So it's interesting and youknow we'll get into a lot of the
details here but from astandpoint of somebody that's
been working with families thathave somebody with dementia for
25 plus years now that what weknow about dementia isn't still
perfect.
We still lack a lot ofknowledge about it, but there
are.
We're learning more and moreevery year, right, and one of
(02:54):
the things that we have learnedis that some of the neural
pathways in the brain are stillthere and we just have to
activate them.
So when somebody has memory loss, but they still have that
creativity, those neuralpathways of creativity, and so
music and art and those types ofthings, often somebody that
might not be able to rememberyour name or remember what they
(03:17):
had for breakfast would stillremember that song from the 50s
or whatever.
It is right, yeah, and so thisis really important to activate
those.
I remember working with anoccupational therapist that
focused on dementia and she wastalking about kind of combining
the creative brain withactivities, and so one of the
(03:39):
things that she would teachfamilies to do she would say
we'll create a song so when herpatient should be using a walker
, that they were not stable ontheir feet and they should be
using a walker.
They would create a song andthey would sing that song and it
would be one of those sort ofbrain worms where they have that
song in their mind that says,okay, when we get up we use the
(04:00):
walker, whatever it is.
I'm not going to sing for youbecause I'm terrible, but the
idea is that you can use thatcreative brain and that can
really stimulate a lot of things.
And that's some of the thingsthat I think we probably don't
focus on enough with folks withdementia.
We kind of too many times wejust accept that All right, well
, they can't remember, they'rerepeating themselves, things
(04:22):
like that, but they still havecertain neural pathways that
probably are very active and wecan access those and really give
them potentially a betterquality of life with the things
that you're talking about.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Yeah, it's so true.
I never underestimate anybodywith dementia, because they
really are capable of so muchmore than they might look like
they're capable of, and sothat's why I love putting these
boxes together, because I knowthat these people can do them,
and I know that it's going tohelp them in the long run too.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
So I'm really curious how did this come about?
So where did you get anaffection for this?
Where did you get that passionfor providing this kind of help
and providing this kind ofservice?
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Yeah, so it might sound a little bit silly, but
ever since I was super little,one of my favorite things to do
was just hang out with mygrandma, like no matter what she
was doing, I just wanted to,like go run errands with her,
iron her clothes or whatever itwas, and so we'd always be
hanging out.
And then later in life shebecame the caregiver for her mom
.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
And so when she took on that role I was just around a
lot for that too, just as muchas I could be, and because,
again, I just liked hanging outwith them like playing cards we
would curl my great grandma'shair and I just liked being
around while they were gettingtheir tasks done.
And so I think that's where mylove for seniors and senior care
really started was just withthose ladies.
(05:39):
And so after that I just kindof started taking a path where I
was working more in senior careand then I ended up at an adult
day center and I worked therefor a while as their activity
director, and this day centerwas specifically for people with
dementia and I loved itSeriously.
I loved getting up to go towork every single day because,
like I said, I could just seethese people that are going
(06:01):
through a big struggle.
I could just see them growing.
You know, even if they couldn'tremember my name, I would see
them accomplish something ormake a friend that day in the
day center, and that was paybackenough for me.
And then life kind of prompted alocation change for me and I
moved from Southern Utah toNorthern Utah and I was like,
well, I want to see another sideof senior care.
(06:21):
So I started working as anin-home caregiver specifically
for memory care, and I lovedthat too, anyway.
So that's kind of where I gotmy start in senior care with my
grandma and then kind of workedmy way up from there.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
So tell us a little bit more about your service.
So, from what I understand andyou can fill in the details here
it's a monthly subscription, sothey get a box of activities
every single month.
Is that right?
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Yeah, yeah, so I always describe it.
It's a little bit like Netflixyou pay one time every month and
then you get something for it,but instead of being something
on your TV or whatever, this isan actual product that we
provide, so you'll get a packageon your doorstep every month,
from one by one care.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Nice.
And so how do you decide what'sin the box every month?
That must take a little bit ofeffort to make sure that you're
keeping up and staying creative,and all of that.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Yeah for sure.
So my days as an activitydirector were super helpful for
me, just because I draw back tothat a lot and I include a lot
of activities that we did backthen.
So that shows that our boxesare definitely tried and true
and dementia friendly.
So I think about that a lot.
If you've heard of Pinterest, Iscroll on Pinterest a lot and I
(07:31):
just try to get inspirationlike what are some good seasonal
crafts and then I modify themmyself to be dementia friendly,
what about?
Speaker 2 (07:39):
and you and I had a brief conversation before about
this, and I'm just curious.
You know I have talked to lotsof people that they're worried
about developing dementia.
So they haven't.
You know, obviously, as we age,we're all going to have some
memory, you know, lapses,whatever.
That's just normal aging andthat's fine.
And so sometimes there's folksthat they say you know, I'd like
(08:03):
to start doing some things tomake it less likely that I'm
going to develop dementia.
I read a study and we actuallyhad somebody on our podcast
recently that talked about thisthat the majority of dementia,
especially Alzheimer's, isn'tdestiny.
It isn't based on genes.
There is a percentage that islikely that you're going to end
(08:27):
up with dementia and you canprobably lessen that by doing
certain things and eating betterand exercising and using your
mind and things like that.
But the majority you couldactually potentially prevent
dementia by staying active, byeating right, by exercising the
brain.
So what about somebody thatmight be?
You know?
(08:47):
Hey, I just want to considerthese activities.
I don't have dementia, I wantto make it less likely I'm going
to get dementia.
It seems like that would be anappropriate subscription for
them too, right.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Yes, yes, absolutely.
So I hear a lot from peoplejust that retirement is boring
like we don't have anything todo and I just say, well, try a
box, because our boxes are fun,and maybe I had mentioned this
before, but because our boxesare set up to have a loved one,
complete it with their caregiveror a friend or whatever.
Even someone that doesn't havedementia or Alzheimer's, they
(09:22):
can complete it with a grandkidyou know, a neighbor, anybody,
and for sure these are supergreat for brain stimulation.
I complete all of the activitiesevery month just because I
think it's fun and I know thatit's good for my brain too.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
So absolutely yeah, so very good.
So I want to make sure for ourlisteners you will.
Someone can subscribe to yourservice from anywhere in the
United States.
Is that accurate or are youlimited in geography?
Speaker 1 (09:48):
We're available in the lower 48 states.
If you can get mail, you canget a box, so we pride ourselves
on that.
Just being able to reachanybody almost anywhere, yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Very good.
I think this is a great idea.
I'm glad that you came up withit and that you decided to
pursue it.
It takes a lot to start abusiness on your own as a young
person, and I appreciate theefforts that you put into this.
What are some of what are youhoping for for the future?
Where do you see this going inthe future?
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Yeah Well, my first goal is that I would love to get
a subscriber in all 48 states.
So check back in a little bitand I'll let you know where I'm
at with my goal.
But I would love to also haveactivities and options for every
person in each stage of thedisease.
Right now, the boxes that weprovide.
they are best suited for peoplewith mild to moderate stages of
(10:39):
the disease, but I want toprovide something for those
people in the advanced stagesand so right now I've got a
couple of things on the drawingboard that I'm trying to turn
these ideas into a reality andso hopefully those will be
launched in 2025.
So we can be serving everybodyand anybody with the disease and
hopefully anybody's interestsand hobbies, and just help these
(11:02):
loved ones and our caregiversout.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
I imagine that would be very challenging to deal with
the later stages of the disease.
And the thing is, I think thatthat could be really helpful and
important for folks.
One of the things that wealways try to make sure that the
family understands when we'redealing with dementia that one
of the best ways to address,let's say, certain behaviors
(11:27):
that can be uncomfortable isdistraction.
Right that we don't argue withsomebody with dementia, we don't
try to convince them, we don'ttry to explain that their mother
has passed away.
That's unnecessary to gothrough that grief again.
It's to.
I saw you've probably seen this, maybe online there's a number
(11:47):
of celebrities now that aredoing some promotions for the
Alzheimer's Association.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
And one of them.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
I think it was, I can't remember.
It's one of the comedian guysand he talks about when he was
dealing with his, I think,parent or something that he used
his skill set, that he got fromimprov.
And in improv one of the thingsthat they always do is yes and
and so in improv it really shutsdown.
(12:13):
If you're going to do improv ifyou ever watched improv, second
City or anything like that ifyou say no, somebody presents an
idea, you say no, it kind ofshuts everything down.
So in improv it's always yes and, and then you add on to it and
he was saying that that's veryhelpful in dealing with somebody
with dementia is yes, and inother words, we're not arguing
(12:34):
with them, we're not sayingremember this, or do you
remember mom died already, oryou know, whatever that is,
that's not necessary to createthat sort of negativity and it
actually causes more difficulty.
It's the yes and, and one ofthe things that we're always
looking for is sort of adistraction, and I think that
(12:54):
what you're presenting is thatcould be one of those things in
the later stages.
I'm not sure exactly how you'regoing to present that, but it
could be hey, let's get out thebox and do an activity that
could sort of provide thatdistraction.
So if somebody is getting upset, somebody is getting agitated,
we do the yes, and let's get outthe box and do an activity.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
So it sounds great.
Yes, yeah, I love that analogy.
That's so smart to keep that inmind, because it can be tricky,
for sure, but there are skillsthat we can use to make life a
little bit easier for us, right?
Speaker 2 (13:25):
So what's the best way?
If somebody's interested, tellme about it.
Do you have a website?
What's the best way tosubscribe to your service?
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Yeah, so we have a website.
It's called onebyonecarecom andyep, yep, you got it, and so on
.
There you'll see oursubscription plan.
Right now we just have the one.
It's $43 per month and thatincludes shipping, and then,
like I said, those activitieswill vary from month to month.
Something that I startedhearing when I started this
(14:00):
company was that some peoplewere thinking, like well, my
loved one only likes to do onetype of activity, or I'm not
going to force them to do youknow, these other six activities
when they only want to matchcards.
You know these other sixactivities when they only want
to match cards, and so I createdactivity specific boxes, and
those are for the people thatjust want to do one type of
activity.
So right now we offer theartist box, so that's just what
(14:21):
it sounds like.
We do painting and coloring andstamps and anything to do with
art.
We'll put it in that box.
And then we do a mix and matchbox, which is just sorting and
matching and like anything youcan think of, like colors and
buttons and numbers and thingslike that.
And then the last box that wehave right now is called the
botanist box, which is a reallyfun one.
(14:43):
I think we provide all of thesupplies for you to grow your
own plants, so that's kind offun.
And then I like the botanistbox personally just because it's
something that you and yourloved one can go back to every
day, like, hey, let's go checkon our plant.
Hey, let's go water our plant,you know so, yeah, so right now
that's what we have for offering, but hopefully we'll see more
(15:05):
in 2025.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
And I like that you're keeping this cost
effective.
You know $43 a month is not amassive investment and if it
could make a difference in thequality of life of your spouse,
your parent, you know, yourloved one it's.
You know that's a smallinvestment to make an impact on
quality of life.
So that's I love that.
I want to clarify, just becauseI don't want anybody to be
(15:30):
seeking you out and not find you.
So one by one is spelled outO-N-E-B-Y-O-N-E right.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Yep, that's correct.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
It's not the letter one, it's the word, one by one
carecom.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Yep, that's correct.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Very good.
So, yeah, great service, I'mexcited about it.
We have our care navigationteam in my law office that
provides continuing advocacy andcare navigation for our clients
, and I'm going to introducethem to your service and see if
you know where which of ourclients might be able to benefit
(16:08):
from this subscription service,because it definitely seems
like something that can impactthe quality of life and, frankly
, the quality of the life of thecaregiver too, because if
you're just always thereperforming tasks and never have
an opportunity to sort ofinteract with your loved one
anymore, have an opportunity tosort of interact with your loved
(16:32):
one anymore you're solely acaregiver performing tasks, as
opposed to, you know,interacting in a personal way
with your loved one.
That can be very taxing andvery demoralizing, and so I
think your service is greatbecause it creates an
opportunity to have thatpersonal interaction, which is
so important.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Yeah, I totally agree .
I feel like you know, life as acaregiver can be boring and
life as someone with Alzheimer'scan be boring too, and we're
not here to live a boring life,and so hopefully these boxes can
spark a little bit of joy and,you know, for your loved one,
but also for you, hopefully it'sjust a happy side of life.
But I was going to say too,with the website, if there's
(17:11):
questions or anything like that,all of the contact information
just goes to me, since I'mrunning this, and so if anybody
has questions or wantsclarification, then you'll find
my number and an email on ourwebsite and feel free to reach
out.
You'll just be chatting with me, and so that would be great.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
So, so appreciate that you had the insight and
passion to create this service,megan Hopkins from
onebyonecarecom creating asubscription box for activities
for people that are sufferingfrom some form of dementia, and
I think it's a great service andthank you for coming on the
(17:49):
podcast.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
Thank you, bob, thanks for having me think it's
a great service and thank youfor coming on the podcast.
Thank you, bob, thanks forhaving me.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
This has been so great, great talking with you.
If you enjoyed this podcast,don't forget to subscribe to
Advice From your Advocates.
You can find us on any placethat you listen to podcasts.
We're on all of them and so ifyou like to see the people that
are talking, you can go toYouTube and watch us.
(18:14):
Most people, I understand, arejust listening and one of the
podcast sites and that's fine.
So you can find us on YouTubeor manorlawgroupcom, or you can
go to our website atmanorlawgroupcom.
Thanks again, reagan.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
Thanks for listening.
To learn more, visitmanorlawgroupcom.
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