VITALIA North Olmsted Raising Alzheimer’s Awareness on the Longest Day

As we work to create light for others, we naturally light our own way.

Mary Anne Radmacher

June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month, when those whose lives have been touched by memory-impairing diseases come together and raise awareness through education and support. This month includes June 21st, the summer solstice and the longest day of sunshine and light during the calendar year.

Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia affect over five million individuals in the United States alone. If we continue this current trajectory, this number is expected to triple by the year 2050. The impact of Alzheimer’s on individuals and those who love them is astounding. Memory, personality, problem solving, safety awareness, decision making, relationships – all these things and more are affected through no fault or choice of the individual. For families, this can feel like a loss that never seems to end.

While dementia is incredibly challenging for everyone involved, there are ways that each one of us can bring light to the darkness.

The Longest Day is the day with the most light, also known as the summer solstice. On June 21st, people from all over the world will fight the darkness of Alzheimer’s through fundraising.

As a Memory Care Director, the battle against Alzheimer’s is important to me for so many reasons. Everyday people struggle to cope with the realization that the person they once knew is changing. The Longest Day is so important because it gives us an opportunity to speak up and to fight for the people we love, those who have been affected by Alzheimer’s. I think of all the times residents who are progressing confide in me how they are scared, how they feel awful for the things that they didn’t mean to say. I think of them, and I want to give them the world. I want to give them a cure, peace, or an answer. We walk for these individuals. We raise awareness and fundraise for them.

Here at VITALIA Active Adult Community® – North Olmsted North Olmsted, OH we will be working as a neighborhood to create a design for a t-shirts we can sell to fundraise for the community. We will also put together a packet with informative pieces on Alzheimer’s Disease. We will also encourage our community to wear purple.

We always encourage families to join us during our engagements. Our families also like to give ideas or bring in fun games for our individuals. We even have a family that will play the piano and sing with our residents.

Let’s join as communities throughout this month to honor, love, and support not only those living with dementia, but their families as well. If your life is personally touched by this disease, we are here for you.