ATLANTA — A New Jersey man has been helping hospitals and nursing home patients stay connected with families by donating iPads.
The inspiration to do more was personal for John Lynch. An iPad was the only thing connecting him and his father who lived in Tucker, GA.
"I did a FaceTime with my dad literally two hours before he transcended into heaven and all of a sudden, it hit me. I said ‘Wow. I just had what happened to me and it’s what’s happening to people all over the country, all over the world,’” said Lynch.
A hospital near him in Wildwood, NJ reached out and asked him if he could donate a few iPads through his charity, Lunch with Lynch Foundation.
Donations poured in.
“In one hour, we were able to get over 10 iPads immediately. Within an hour, it was 20. By the following 24 hours, I had well over 60 iPads in hand,” said Lynch.
And, just like that, he extended his reach from New jersey to New York, South Carolina, North Carolina, New York, and soon, Georgia and Kansas.
“iPads are a way to connect people who are in a quarantine environment,” he said.
In honor of his father, Lynch is coming back to his Atlanta roots.
He’s donating iPads to Emory University Hospital, where his father was a patient for dementia and then also to Northlake Gardens in Tucker, where his father lived in the memory care unit.
“The power of community really, this is one of those times that it really makes a huge difference in the lives of the nurses, the patients, and their families,” he said.
If you’d like to donate to Lynch’s “Operation Connection: The iPad Project”, click here.
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