More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease. In fact, Alzheimer’s is currently the 6th leading cause of death in the nation. Thankfully, The Alzheimer’s Association has made it their mission to find, not only treatment for this devastating disease, but to find a cure. There are several fundraisers organized by the Association including the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, which is the largest Alzheimer’s fundraiser worldwide, Run Tri Ride, a triathlon-style fundraiser, Riv-ALZ , a woman’s flag football game, and The Longest Day, which was created around the Summer Solstice so the community can take advantage of the extra daylight hours to have fun and be creative with the way they support the cause. This year that day happens to fall on Wednesday, June 21st, but events have been held at different points of the month or year. Each year a different theme is assigned to the Longest Day and this year’s theme is “All About Love”.
Some participants have even chosen activities that a loved one affected by Alzheimer’s might enjoy as well which can be an opportunity for a more inclusive event. The options are limitless.
Whether you choose to donate, participate or support one of the many Longest Day activities, it’s also important to keep in mind the 333,000 family caregivers who often feel like every day is their longest day. Caring for a family US caregivers have provided a total of 380,000,000 hours of unpaid care and on average, each spend about $5,000 out-of-pocket to care for someone with Alzheimer’s disease. For some this means missing a vacation, but for other it may mean going hungry.
So get out there and do something you love while raising funds and awareness for the Alzheimer’s Association. For more information or to register your activity, visit thelongestday.alz.org.