Posted 12-3-19
Update: Mom was super sweet yesterday in my visit. She has so much to (try to) say and that it is heartbreaking. Some days I feel like she is frustrated in communicating and other days she just rolls with it. Praying for her peace and comfort and that her anxiety level stays low.
Today I need to break from my normal routine. (You know, comparing Alzheimer’s to a *toaster strudel or a 1991 sports car or similar, more often or not. 😉 ) Why??? Today is called Giving Tuesday. <hands on knees, panting from the previous several days>
#GivingTuesday is a shopping respite day set aside after everyone has gone hog wild spending, first in brick and mortar stores on Black Friday Thanksgiving, then at small businesses on Saturday, then at the site of the **Jeff Bezos College fund (Amazon) yesterday. The purpose of Giving Tuesday is to not forget about caring for others as we blast through a wild and crazy holiday season. I just have a couple of thoughts about today and some advice, should you choose to read further.
There are two organizations that I would commend to you that are worthy of your donation: SeniorAge and the Alzheimer’s Association. Here is why:
SeniorAge is my employer, so keep that in mind, I suppose. However, I write this freely and “not on the clock”, if you will. This organization helps tens of thousands of folks 60 and over (as well as younger folks caring for seniors) first by providing hot meals in our 37 senior centers throughout the southern part of Missouri. The non-profit also provides and delivers (!) a steady stream of delicious and nutritious frozen meals to those eligible who cannot come to a center. There is, unfortunately, a large waiting list for those not on Medicaid to be on this meal program. (Note: with seniors, not everyone who is eligible to be on Medicaid will choose to do so. The 60 and older crowd is a vastly different generation than most.)
BUT, don’t let the tens of thousands of meals SeniorAge provides fool you… they are much more than a meal. They have programs to assist with filing taxes, with wellness (exercise, general health, Alzheimer’s Caregiver help, etc…), with emergency/disaster preparedness, with Medicare enrollment and with 1,000,000,000 other things that come up daily through their information and assistance department. They have many options to help you or your loved one stay in your home instead of being forced to nursing care. Do you have an issue that has to do with seniors? Call them and either they can address it themselves or they can point you the correct direction.
Last note, even though much more could be said: They are non-profit. SeniorAge Area Agency on Aging has the word agency in it which sort of sounds like/implies that they are government-related. They are not. They are partially funded through the federal government (most notably the Older American’s Act) and through various generous appropriations in the state government including the new Growth and Development bill, but they also depend on grants and individual contributions in sort of a three-legged stool of funding. They are a very, very lean organization, with administrative expenses kept extremely low so as to have more funds for services which are largely free or donation-based. Last of the last: I am proud to work for this agency and I am comfortable giving my complete endorsement to them as a prime target for your donation dollars. You will be appreciated by them and by me with every donated nickle,
The Alzheimer’s Association is worth your donation consideration. This group of servants do as much as they can possibly do to help caregivers, to fight for prevention and to fund entities searching for a cure. They help provide respite help, give assistance, fund and organize support groups and perform countless educational events. They, too, are a very lean non-profit, funneling as much as humanly possible toward their intended mission “to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health.” Their 24/7/365 helpline, found at 1-800-272-3900, is worth your donation all by itself. If you have dementia or you need information for a loved one or a friend, this organization is a huge resource. I also appreciate the fact that part of your donation goes toward research to find a cure…and there have been many positive steps in the right direction using these funds! If we #EndALZ, it would surprise me if this organization didn’t fund the man or woman who found the cure.
I will leave my little tin cup out there today for your consideration and will resume my “normal” writing tomorrow. Thank you very much for your consideration of these two groups that mean the world to me! I assure you that I am not on commission in asking for your money. 😉 I know, I know…I look affluent driving in the sports car I wrote about yesterday, but it is not by making money helping you with my blog.
The sun really beams on this beauty!
* I have never compared Alzheimer’s to a toaster strudel…. yet. 😉 Hmmm….
** If you add “smile.” to your Amazon website name, you can designate that either of the above organizations get a small percentage of your Amazon shopping gross purchases. Very cool, eh? I think so!
#EndALZ #EndAlzheimers #Walk2EndAlz #AlzAssociation #GoPurple #Dementia #GivingTuesday #IsItChristmasYet
