Greencroft Communities Stories

Alice never had any intentions of becoming one of Greencroft’s Dream Award Recipients when she applied for the program on the spur of the moment. She had read about other Dream Award Recipients and decided to take a chance and see if Greencroft could help her learn more about her Grandfather’s immigration to America.

Alice had always been very interested in learning more about her grandfather and the rest of her family on that side, but with only her grandfather’s manifest to go off of and limited computer skills, she felt she needed some help from a genealogist to find the kind of information she was looking for. Shortly after learning she was a winner of Greencroft’s Dream Recipient program, she read about a genealogist who worked in a library in a neighboring county and reached out to see if, with Greencroft’s financial assistance, the genealogist would be able to help. As a result, the genealogist sent Alice six large manilla envelopes full of information about her family. 

She now knows where her grandfather arrived, where her grandfather and grandmother were married, and even where her grandfather got his first job. She was able to obtain letters between her grandfather and his brother that are written in the old German script and is currently having them translated.

Alice said, “So far, the most enlightening thing I have learned is how quickly he made the decision to go to America. On a Saturday, someone mentioned that if he wanted to go to America, he could. He made the decision to leave his homeland and began making arrangements by that following Sunday. What I know from the letters is that he wondered if there were any shirts or handkerchiefs at his brother’s home that he could pick up before he left.”

With all of this information readily available, Alice is excited to use her journalism and creative writing skills to write an article about her grandfather for family and friends. Part of the joy she is getting from receiving this information is to be able to write this article herself. It gives her something else to do that she truly loves.

“It’s all so miraculous,” she said. “I want to encourage others to submit to the Dream Recipient program. If you have something in your mind that’s a desire, don’t let it slip by. Don’t think it’s not important because it’s not important to anyone else - it’s important to you. I’m so grateful that this is happening for me so late in life. Just very humble and grateful. I can’t thank Greencroft enough.”

Alice was just one of many Greencroft Dream Recipients. The following recipients also won the chance to have their dreams come true, and are currently waiting for their requests to be fulfilled: Molly, from Chicago Trail Village, wished for a bird feeder for her use on campus. Mary Ann, also from Chicago Trail Village, wished for a pet and will be finding their new best friend soon. Aldine, from Greencroft Goshen, wished for a limo ride and luncheon to the Blue Gate Restaurant with friends. Angel and Lora, from Manor III at Greencroft Goshen, wished for a religious trip and will receive two tickets to a nearby Bible museum of their choice complete with a one night hotel stay and stipend for meals, gas, and other needs.

We are so delighted to help fulfill these residents’ dreams, and can’t wait to see what the dreams in our 2021 Dream Award applications are!

Dream submissions are currently open.