From personal loss to an inspirational movement
FOUNDER OF NEW JERSEY-BASED NONPROFIT TURNS PERSONAL LOSS INTO INSPIRATIONAL MOVEMENT TO HELP OTHERS DURING PANDEMIC
John Lynch and “The Lunch With Lynch Foundation” collect and donate iPads to hospitals and nursing homes after the loss of his father
As the founder of the “Lunch With Lynch Foundation,” Wildwood Crest-resident John Lynch turned a personal loss into an inspirational movement. After saying his final goodbyes to his father in Atlanta from his home in New Jersey via Facetime, Lynch was inspired to launch “Operation Connection: The iPad Project.”
The Lunch With Lynch Foundation has collected over 60 iPads from the community and donated them to those in the healthcare industry as a way to connect patients with their families. Cape May County Medical Center was the recipient of the first 20 iPads after Lynch learned one of their nurses was using her personal phone to accomplish the task. The foundation will continue distributing iPads to nursing homes in Cape May County and hospitals across the country.
“For the last two years or so, the only way I’ve been able to communicate with my father, who lived in Atlanta in a memory care unit, was through technology,” said Lynch. “Unfortunately, during this quarantine, my father passed away of non-coronavirus illness. I was able to say my goodbyes from here in New Jersey (on April 13) through a Facetime opportunity. In the memory of my father, Hugh Lynch, I want to help people in the hospitals communicate with their family members.”
“I am so grateful for John Lynch for donating iPads for Cape Regional patients,” said Katie Hinchey, whose grandmother was a recipient of an iPad. “When grandmother was taken by ambulance, they took nothing with her. No phone. No list of numbers. No pigeon to carry messages. So, when I called her room this morning and the nurse asked if we could Facetime – all my fears disappeared.”
“Our families have told us how important it is and how much they really appreciate the opportunity to see their loved ones and talk to them,” said Tom Piratzky, Executive Director of the Cape Regional Foundation. “We want to thank John and The Lunch With Lynch Foundation for their generosity.”
The Lunch With Lynch Foundation continues to take donations of new or gently used iPads, along with cash donations to purchase iPads. To make a cash donation for this cause or to learn how to donate a gently used or new iPad, go to https://www.lunchwithlynch.com/kindness.
The Lunch with Lynch Foundation provides learning experiences for children that attend school in Southern New Jersey by inspiring the students with educational opportunities in and out of the classroom environment since 2007. The Foundation provides our youth the values and skills they need to become exceptional leaders in their community. Based in Wildwood, NJ, the 501(c)(3) is known for spreading kindness through its #ThumbsUp4Kindness project, assisting children and their families with life threatening illnesses and championing various charitable causes within the community.
