Twilight Wish Foundation fulfills dreams of seniors

Never stop wishing. No matter your age.

Because sometimes those wishes do come true.

“If feels so nice to be able to give back to people who have given back their entire lives,” said Baliegh Butler, an Allegheny County ambassador for the Twilight Wish Foundation, a nonprofit based in Doylestown that grants wishes to seniors. “We are always looking for people who need help.”

The organization recently found three area seniors to assist.

Eileen Vehon was given a dictation-enabled laptop.

Sylvia Starr Smith is taking piano lessons.

JunYetta Seale was gifted a steam closet — a portable dry cleaning machine to care for her capes and hats.

People can submit applications for all types of wishes — from computers to piano lessons to a steam closet or something such as a wheelchair or being able to attend a sporting event or visit a hometown one final time.

A committee meets on a monthly basis to review applications and determine the eligibility of an applicant and the request. The nominee must meet certain requirements, including being at least 65 or a permanent resident of an eldercare facility, a U.S. citizen, have an annual income of less than 200% of current federal poverty level income — $30,120 in 2024.

All applicants must have a history of giving back to their community and be cognitively capable of experiencing the wish. Certain wishes might require documentation from a physician.

Nearly 56 million Americans are 65 and older, with projections estimating that the population of older adults will grow to 94.7 million in 2060, according to the National Council on Aging.

Connecting with others

“Twilight Wish is wonderful,” said Seale, 77, of East Liberty, a retired professional costume designer who has created a collection of capes and hats. “I wanted to be able to have other seniors try on the capes and hats, but I also wanted to be able to clean them so that more seniors will have the opportunity to wear the capes and hats — which I call empowerment garments.”

Seale learned to sew as a teenager. She asked her mom for a sewing machine, and it arrived on Christmas morning when she was 16.

An award-winning costume designer, Seale has created more than 100 capes for men, women and children. She has made and embellished hats and received donations of them for her collection. She said she likes when people get to experience wearing the capes because they can visualize different ways to wear them.

The capes and hats are more than pieces of material, she said. Some of her work has been used in more than 50 theater productions across the northeast corridor, including many local high school musicals.

Her work has been showcased at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Oakland, the Frick Pittsburgh in Point Breeze and the Senator John Heinz History Center in the Strip District.

She created a project called Capes and Crowns while at Alloy on Pittsburgh’s North Side, where she was one of the future makers. She also hosted Capes and Crowns at Emerald City in Downtown Pittsburgh and at senior centers throughout Western Pennsylvania.

Emerald City, founded in 2021, is “a 12,000-square-foot co-working, event and social space dedicated to catapulting Black entrepreneurs and businesses,” according to its website.

The Capes and Crowns project also visits senior communities and nursing facilities. It is described as a pop-up fashion show where every senior is treated like a supermodel. Participants are encouraged to wear their favorite hat and choose one of Seale’s fabulous capes to wear during the event.

Since seniors were trying on the capes and hats, Seale needed a way to clean them because dry cleaning was too costly. A portable steam closet was her wish.

“Sharing the stories of the capes is about connectivity to other seniors,” she said. “They like to try them on, and that makes them feel good.”

She is grateful to Twilight Wish and wants to nominate a neighbor for a wish.

“I want to help someone else like I was helped,” said Seale, who is writing a book about downsizing with dignity. “It’s about paying it forward. You see people who were once vibrant and they deserve some dignity. They deserve to experience love and joy, and I hope my capes and hats give them that love and joy. That can really add some happiness to a person’s life.”

Prayers answered

Having a new computer has made Vehon, 74, pretty happy.

An author of several children’s books, she had started hand-writing a book about what she calls “the inspirational moments of God’s healing power she has experienced.” A few medical issues cause weakness in her arm so writing was challenging and some of the words she wrote were illegible.

“I really want to write this book,” said Vehon, a Latrobe resident. “It was a calling from God. I am doing this for the glory of God.”

Now that she has the Hewlett-Packard computer, she can talk into it and her words appear on a screen.

“This computer changed my life,” she said. “I love that I can write every day, and I can save it on my computer and not have to worry about reading my handwriting. It is so easy.”

Vehon said she hesitated about asking for a wish because a new computer is expensive. She said a friend urged her to fill out the form.

“I prayed hard about this,” Vehon said. “And I said, ‘Lord what can I do?’ I loved working in my yard and mowing my lawn, but now I have to have someone else do that. So I decided to write a book. The first chapter is done. This is awesome. This is so nice that Twilight Wish helps elderly people.”

Priceless experience

Smith, 76, of Oakland said she always loved the piano and wanted to learn. She was taking lessons from another resident where she lives, but the woman passed away unexpectedly in December.

Smith said the lessons she receives through Twilight Wish give her something to look forward to, and she is getting better and practicing more. One of her favorite songs to play is “Amazing Grace.”

Her lessons are arranged by Sound Advice Entertainment, an entertainment and event booking agency in Pittsburgh.

“I have such a good time learning the piano,” Smith said.

Since its founding in 2003, Twilight Wish has granted more than 6,000 wishes.

Every wish amount is different. Organizers try to get items and services discounted or donated, which helps them make every donation go that much further. They also post wishes on their website for funding and share on social media, according to Mary Farrell, national director of community relations for Twilight Wish.

Smith’s and Seale’s wishes were granted through the Allegheny County chapter of Twilight Wish and Vehon’s was granted through the Westmoreland chapter.

Smith hopes to hear about more wishes being granted.

“You can’t put a price on this experience,” Smith said. “Seniors have wishes, too. You should never stop wishing.”