In her two decades of working in the University of Iowa’s Recreational Services department, Angela Charsha-Harney has seen firsthand how health and happiness are connected.

So, when one of her personal training clients was diagnosed with dementia, she dove headfirst into research on how to best help him — both inside and outside of his time exercising. 

Through research on health, aging, dementia, and the affects joy can have on our lives, Charsha-Harney was inspired to create thinkJOY, a nonprofit she describes as “wish granting for seniors at the local level” in Johnson County. The vision: To live in a community where joy is a valued priority and people are nourished through meaningful moments.

With a small budget from generous community donors; about 40 volunteers; and help from friends, colleagues, and her two children, ages 14 and 12, Charsha-Harney’s nonprofit launched earlier this year. 

“I honestly feel the happiest when I'm giving back to others in some capacity,” says Charsha-Harney, Rec Services’ associate director of fitness. “I’ve learned that joy is an ember to health.”

The mission of thinkJOY is to inspire people to lean into the health benefits of happiness. What keeps her and other volunteers motivated, she says, is “walking away from a gifting experience or a special event feeling like they made a difference in someone’s day.”

Part of what makes thinkJOY unique are the “day-by-design” experiences created for individual seniors, some of whom may lack social connection or who are living with dementia.  

Among the tailor-made moments of happiness thinkJOY has created: 

• Finding a 1956 Buick to use for a day out so a senior could go to George’s Buffet for a burger and be driven around his favorite Iowa City spots in style. 
• Organizing a piano recital and book signing for a retired UI faculty member in his Iowa City assisted living facility. 
• Sponsoring an upcoming photo shoot for a woman and her beloved companion dog. 

Beyond creating unique experiences, thinkJOY hosts quarterly intergenerational connection events where residents of local senior living facilities can have meaningful conversations with student volunteers from the UI and local high schools. The nonprofit also distributes personalized gifts to seniors. 

Polly Price, vice president of thinkJOY and a personal trainer at the UI, says the nonprofit is already making an impact in Johnson County.

“When we raise awareness about the need for this organization, people respond in such a positive way, proving that we are on the right path,” Price says. “I was motivated to get involved because I know my parents would have loved having an organization like thinkJOY to help them feel special in their final years.” 

Charsha-Harney, who previously created Hawks4Hope, a UI running group that participated in a Chicago-to-Peoria hospital fundraising event, and served on the founding board of Girls on the Run of Eastern Iowa, hopes to expand thinkJOY’s offerings in the new year with dreams of scaling it across Iowa or even nationally someday. 

 “Everyone deserves to have meaningful moments in their lives and to experience joy in their days,” says Charsha-Harney. “My profession focuses on helping others find joy in movement, and this nonprofit is focused on joy as a movement.”

If you’d like to learn more about thinkJOY, want to nominate a senior, have community event ideas to share, or are inspired to sponsor or donate, visit www.thinkjoy.org or connect to the organization via email at director@thinkjoy.org.