The Friend's Place

Where balloon volleyball intersects with memory loss

At The Friend’s Place in Dungeness, Wednesdays bring music, laughter, and spirited games like balloon volleyball. More than just a respite program for caregivers, it’s a joyful community where those with memory loss rediscover purpose and connection. With no labels between volunteers and friends, it’s a place where love, music, and belonging shine—even when memories fade.

“The highlight is balloon volleyball,” says Daniel George with a smile, Director of The Friend’s Place at Dungeness Community Church north of Sequim. “We end every day with it.” And it’s easy to see why. As golden oldies from the 1960s fill the room and colorful balloons float above the net, pool noodles at the ready, laughter rises and toes start tapping. For a little while, everyone is simply in the moment—laughing, cheering, and playing together.

Friend’s Place just wrapped up its first year serving the Sequim community, and while it’s technically a respite program for caregivers of loved ones with memory loss, it’s so much more than that. Ask anyone involved, and they’ll tell you: this isn’t just a care service. It’s a social club. It’s a family.

Every Wednesday at 10 a.m., familiar faces start arriving, greeted with warm hellos and the smell of coffee brewing. As loved ones wave goodbye for a few hours of rest or errands, the friends of Friend’s Place settle in for a day full of laughter and meaningful activity.

The schedule is thoughtfully crafted—activities shift every 15 to 20 minutes to spark different parts of the brain and body. Gentle chair stretches lead to a lively game of bingo, then a clever dice game to keep the mind sharp. After lunch, there might be a bean bag toss, an art project, or a word puzzle—but it all builds to the grand finale: balloon volleyball.

Helping guide these joyful days is a devoted team of trained volunteers. But here, there are no labels. Everyone wears the same kind of name tag, and no one is singled out as a participant or a helper. Need to move some chairs? Whoever’s nearby is asked to pitch in. Time to hand out lunches? If you’re standing close, you’ve got a job to do.

“A lot of our friends love being able to help,” Daniel shares. “At home, they might have everything done for them, but here, they have a role. They have purpose.”

Perhaps the most powerful moments happen at the end of the day. Daniel hears it in the voices of husbands, daughters, neighbors—caregivers who arrive to find their loved ones glowing with happiness. “They tell me it’s like getting a piece of them back,” he says quietly. “Like something long forgotten has come to the surface again.”

Of course, there are hard days. There comes a time when a friend’s needs may outgrow the program. But even then, there’s a quiet comfort in knowing that another family will walk through the open door soon, discovering they’re not alone in this journey. There’s a whole community here, ready to love and support them.

Daniel often says that even when memory fades, two languages remain: the language of laughter and the rhythm of music. “You might lose words or facial expressions,” he says, “but a smile, a laugh, or a toe tapping to a favorite song—those things stay with us.”

Wednesdays at Friend’s Place have quickly become a highlight for many in the Sequim community, and the joy has spilled over into other days of the week, thanks to Tim’s Place at Trinity United Methodist Church in east Sequim. Together, the programs now offer three days of respite care. But if Daniel has his way, Dungeness will soon offer a second day—bringing the total to four. All they need is a few more volunteers to help make it happen.

If you ask Daniel, he’ll tell you what makes Friend’s Place special isn’t the games or even the music. It’s the connections. The laughter shared between new friends. The relief in a caregiver’s eyes. And the moments—so many moments—when time seems to stand still, and joy comes shining through.

If you are seeking respite and have a loved one experiencing memory loss, wish to volunteer, or would like to support in other ways, please contact The Friend’s Place by clicking here.