ORLANDO, Fla. — It’s a simple gesture, inspired by a personal experience.
What You Need To Know
Years ago, a personal experience inspired Vaido Jagmohan to make seniors’ milestones
Jagmohan called the initiative “Celebration Impact”
She brings birthday cards, balloons, and flowers to seniors in nursing homes who do not have frequent visitors
But for many, what Vaido Jagmohan chooses to do for strangers has a profound impact on their lives.
“I just feel like this is my way to give back to them and thank them for what they’ve contributed in this world,” she said.
On a regular basis, before or after work, Jagmohan delivers flowers, balloons, and cards to a nursing home in Winter Garden, celebrating residents’ birthdays.
Though the facility, Orlando Health – Health Central Park, marks residents’ birthdays as well, as the facility’s Activities Director Ed Bohannon-Dobski explained, not everyone has family visitors.
“She comes in on their birthday, sings happy birthday to them … We hear about it for the next week, on how special that moment was that a lady came in and celebrated their birthday even though they may never have seen her before,” he said, adding, “A stranger, an angel, truly an angel that has descended into their lives.”
Jagmohan got the idea for her “Celebration Impact” initiative in 2018, when she and her sister went to New York state to visit another sister — and stopped by a nursing home. The woman said they came to see their uncle, who was having several serious health issues, and sang a birthday tune to cheer him up.
Weeks later, after Jagmohan’s uncle passed, she listened faithfully at the funeral and was touched by the poem “The Dash,” written by Linda Ellis. The poem speaks of the moments between one’s birth and death — the “dash” — displayed on every tombstone.
Jagmohan said that the poem led her to think about her own “dash,” and the legacy she might leave behind for her two daughters. Once back in Florida, the idea for “Celebration Impact” took shape.
“I’m talking to a coworker and I said, ‘I should do this.’ And they’re like, ‘Do what?’ I said, ‘I should celebrate these birthdays!’” she recalled, continuing, “Because, like my uncle, if we didn’t show up that day, that day would have gone unnoticed.”
That is when Jagmohan called Bohannon-Dobski to compile a list of residents who do not have regular visitors.
And since those first visits years ago, Bohannon-Dobski has been furnishing the lists as Jagmohan spends her own time and money on the visits, meeting with residents like Nancy Vendur, who said the woman’s cheery visits have made her feel “very special.”
It was 11 years ago that Vendur, a lifelong Winter Garden resident, moved to Orlando Health – Health Central Park following a stroke.
But the woman with the coiffed hair and glittery slippers, known by many around the nursing home as “Fancy Nancy,” does not have regular visitors, apart from occasional visits from her son.
Jagmohan has now visited the woman on her birthday four times, often with her two teenage daughters in tow.
“I think she’s a loving person, a giving person. And she enjoys it,” said Vendur. “She was the first person who came and talked to me like that.”
“It says there’s humanity in the world still, there’s love in the world still, and there’s people out there that just want to make strangers happy,” added Bohannon-Dobski.
For Jagnohan, it’s about instilling in her children the importance of giving back to their community by listening to senior stories, valuing their contributions, and marking their milestones.
“I believe we’re all here for a reason, and I think this is mine,” she said.