Two students at San Juan Hills High school have created their non-profit organization that creates and donates baskets to the unpaid caregivers with loved ones that have Alzheimer’s and Dementia. 

The Organization, Care For The Givers, created by senior Isabella Poppen and freshman Sammy Poppen, was born after their grandfather passed away in December of 2020. They both quickly noticed the physical and mental effect his death had on their family, and when they were unable to find an organization to help, took action into their own hands. Later in January, they started officially forming the organization, in hopes to provide support for other fellow caregivers.

“Our non-profit is called Care For The Givers, and we are in the middle of the process of making baskets to deliver to unpaid caregivers with loved ones with Alzheimer’s and Dementia, which there are quite a lot in this area,” said Isabella Poppen.

Since then, their Care For The Givers Project  has impacted so many lives and is currently working on getting up to 5,000 followers on social media to allow them to reach more communities. They do extend as much as they can and have been relying on communication with friends and businesses to get the word out about their project. 

“There are currently 11 million unpaid caregivers in the U.S,” said Isabella. This large number does not discourage but rather motivates the Poppens to be actively reaching out and looking for new ways to grow the organization.

Both Isabella and Sammy have mentioned that his organization has taken up most of their time. However, they always find a way to regularly go to the San Clemente farmers markets, with homemade paintings, jewelry, coasters and more to raise funds for their organization. Sammy loves to help others as much as possible, usually by helping his mom and grandmother prepare for the markets.

With all the funds they have raised, they have decided to donate it entirely to the Alzheimer’s Association, which is a fellow organization that encourages the research of Alzheimer’s and all other Dementia along with maintaining a strongly connected community.

They are currently working on raising money for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s event which will take place on October 23rd at 9:00 a.m. in San Clemente. It will be a family friendly event, and an all able-bodied walk meaning you don’t have to walk if you don’t want to. The main objective is to support the community, and the event itself is completely free of charge. 

Both Sammy and Isabella have dedicated and strengthened their relationships through Care For The Givers and will continue to strive to help as many communities as they can.

“This is just at the very beginning…”said Sammy. So, as they continue to build on this strong foundation, the Poppen family will continue to strive and make differences in people’s everyday lives.