OUR STORY

Lakeshore Elder Enrichment is a family-owned non-profit. The idea began after watching a loved one go through dementia and seeing the difficulties first hand. In fact, the name LEE (Lakeshore Elder Enrichment) comes from the name of the woman who inspired us. While many care homes work extremely hard to provide its residents with their needs, we believe that people require much more. Our mission is to bring that extra enrichment to those in care homes. Help us to bring joy and laughter.

Our current focus is on gardening. We'll plant or deliver flowers to senior homes. Eventually, we hope to move into volunteer work, such as volunteer performances.

Who was Lee?

Lee's story was a tale for the ages. A sort of Cinderella story with a protagonist whose strength and determination brought her out of a horror only those born in war could know.

Lee (Chun-sil) was born in Korea just before the Korean war. To understand Lee, you must understand Korea. At the time, Korea, like Lee, had been through the ringer. Having just come out of an oppressive and brutal occupation by Japan (1910-1945), Korea's recovery was a work in progress. Born of this recent emancipation, the Korean Conflict, a long series of tensions and skirmishes between the now divided Korea, clawed more wounds into a country still in critical condition. North and South Korea's feud ended not at the Korean border, the eyes of the world darted between them as each were backed by different sides of the cold war.

Lee's birth in this tumultuous state marked her for a tough life. Always tight-lipped about this time in her life, we know little. What we did know, horrified and reminded us to be grateful for the life we have. Poverty in times of peace is a merciless struggle. In times of war, only the most hardened individuals make it out. And when North Korea finally invaded South Korea, the struggle would truly begin.

South Korea's deliverance would come with the American armed forces... and so would Lee's. Even with the Americans, South Korea was barely holding on. The capital of Seoul was captured four different times throughout the war. But with the help of the Americans, they drove back the invaders. Meanwhile among the US soldiers, a young dashing man named Harold Dupont served with pride. And on one fateful day, he stepped into the commissary where Lee worked. The beautiful young woman caught his eye and he eventually won her heart. A strong, dependable, and deeply loyal man, he was so unlike her chaotic home life. After Harold's service, the two left for the United States to rural Kansas. They had three lovely daughters and owned a variety of businesses. Despite the taboo of their interracial relationship, Harold stood by Lee firmly. He was a family-centric man, devoted to his wife and children. She was his world until he passed away in 2009.

After Lee began showing signs of dementia, we have tried to be there for her and have done our best to enrich her life. We recently realized that we wanted to do the same for the others in her situation. After all, if there was anything to know about Lee, she loved to make people happy. She drew people in easily with her sense of humor. Everywhere we went, someone knew her. Though perhaps she was best known for her stint on the show "So You Think Can Dance." She had come to see her niece's audition for the show, but ended up taking the stage with "Gangnam Style", dancing with all the judges. It was so popular, it was part of the ten-year highlight montage. Whether it was feeding people or making them laugh, Lee always took care of people. We wanted to continue Lee's legacy, in honor of her.