About Diane: Diane Riehle is a Giving Voice Foundation volunteer and champion who regularly lends her time, energy, and enthusiasm to Creative Connections and other GVF programs and events. After retiring from a career she loved at Buffalo Trace, Diane moved to Cincinnati and quickly found a new community through Giving Voice. She is passionate about personal health, lifelong learning, and the power of showing up for others – and believes anyone can make a difference by being themselves, embracing a little goofy, and being willing to try.

I would probably describe myself as a workaholic. I think other people who know me would say the same thing.

I spent much of my career in Southeastern Indiana in Human Resources and worked long hours. I moved to Frankfort, Kentucky and worked the last 8 years of my career at Buffalo Trace Distillery. It was a “cool” job and I was very passionate about my work there. I retired early, and about three years ago, I moved to Cincinnati from Frankfort, Kentucky. I have three children and six grandchildren. One of my daughters, Kristin Cooley, is the Program Director at Giving Voice Foundation.

That’s how I first got connected to Giving Voice.

It started very simply. I was helping pick up flowers for Creative Connections. After doing that two or three times, I found myself spending more time in the room. I watched what was happening and thought, I want to help with this, too. It was a very easy transition.

Dementia has not personally impacted my immediate family, so when I first started volunteering, I didn’t come in with a lot of experience or knowledge about it. I learned about dementia by being around the people at Creative Connections and watching what happened each week. And what happens in that room is magical.

Monday is now my favorite day of the week. I get to watch people wrap their arms around each other. I see the way they comfort one another and the connections that form because of what they are facing together. Those relationships don’t necessarily stop when the program ends, either. Sometimes people head to Skyline afterward for lunch. They’re true connections.

And there is also the music. I’ve watched people hear a song and suddenly remember the words. I’ve personally seen someone who was nonverbal begin singing. You can see someone just lighten up when they realize they remember a song or a lyric. It amazes me every time.

I understand there is science behind why Creative Connections is designed the way it is. I do a lot of physical and brain activity myself because I’m passionate about my health and doing everything I can to stay healthy. I work out at Activate Brain & Body Fitness alongside people living with dementia, traumatic brain injuries and others of all ages, like me, who are healthy and want to stay that way.

So I understand that there is a reason behind the music and movement. But when you’re actually in the Creative Connections room, it doesn’t feel like science. It feels like joy. People are laughing, dancing, and singing. For a little while, there is joy in a time that can also hold a lot of pain.

And sometimes, if you’re lucky, one of those people becomes very special to you. For me, that person was Jackie. Jackie had Down Syndrome in addition to dementia, and our group knew her as our little love bug. She gave hugs and compliments freely, and her smile brought out happiness in everyone around her. Once, she actually ran and jumped right into my arms. She was just full of love.

Did this story remind you of one of your own?

Whether you’re living with dementia, supporting someone you love, working alongside families, or carrying a memory that matters, we’d be honored to hear it.