Like mother . . .
I helped collect donations last Saturday at a local Walgreen’s during the Alzheimer’s Association Forget Me Not Days, the second time I’ve pitched in for this important fundraiser. This year I was pleased that my thirteen-year-old daughter Annie agreed to come along and keep me company during my shift.
Annie is old enough to know that Alzheimer’s disease runs in families, and she has started to understand the impact of that since my mother and her grandmother died of Alzheimer’s. We had a couple of hours to talk about it while we accepted donations.
My request remained the same for every Walgreen’s customer. “Would you like to donate to the Alzheimer’s Association to help find a cure?”
“I don’t want you to get Alzheimer’s, Mom,” Annie finally confessed during a lull in the action.
“Neither do I, and that’s why I help out in any way that I can with the Alzheimer’s Association. But the most important reason I volunteer is so that a cure will be found for Alzheimer’s before you are older.”
“But how much money could we possibly raise today, Mom? It can’t be enough to do much.”
… like daughter
“No, not us alone,” I agreed. “But say we raise a couple hundred dollars here today. Add that amount with every location across the country that is collecting for Alzheimer’s research this weekend, and that’s enough to help. We can only do our best as a small part of a bigger effort.”
“So together we can all help.” It wasn’t a question, it was a definitive statement as Annie figured it out.
My volunteer time for the Alzheimer’s Association paid dividends in more ways than one this time around. How are you supporting the Alzheimer’s Association and their mission for a world without Alzheimer’s disease?
Many enthusiastic and passionate supporters came out on a sunny and fiercely windy morning in Southwind Park for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s on September 22, 2012 in Springfield, Illinois. Not only was the event a fundraiser, but it was also a moving tribute to those who currently suffer from or care for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease.
A touching speech was made by a woman in her fifties who was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease three years ago and her caregiver husband, both of whom stressed fighting as long as possible and dealing with the diagnosis as best they could.
The walk after the brief rally was somber and befitting the occasion as we all walked together around Southwind Park, each silently hopeful that some day there will be a cure found to stop the suffering from this horrible and frightful disease. I thought about my mother and family as I walked on their behalf, and I reflected on my greatest wish the entire time. Please let there be a world without Alzheimer’s disease for my children and their children.
