Walk To Remember

“You’ll never walk alone”  that is the mission of Alzheimer’s Network of Oregon http://alznet.org/ . This past Saturday, many members of the Salem, Oregon community participated to bring awareness and support those associated with Alzheimer from caregivers to people affected with the disease. TEAM DIANE was a great success! With 36 walkers and 55 members total! Plus the team came in second regarding donations, we raised $1,456!!!!

Many people associate this disease with the elderly and often times it is not identified, instead people play it off as “they are just getting old and losing their memory.” But Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging, instead it is an attack on one’s brain nerve cells and doesn’t allow for connection with other cells. Alzheimer’s is part of the Top 10 leading causes of death within the U.S. Many people develop co-existing illnesses and the disease progresses in between 2-20 years. For each individual diagnosed with Alzheimer there is 1-4 people who are caregivers, often times it is family members but that is not always the case. A Walk to Remember is important because it shows that it matters, losing one’s memory is something no one wishes but it is up to us to aid in whatever way we can, raising funds for a cure, to take care of those who don’t have family who can do so and so on! For more information: http://www.alz.org/.

 

“Was it you or I who stumbled first? It does not matter. The one of us who finds the strength to get up first, must help the other.” ~Vera Nazarian

 

All Around the World

What a week it was! Along with 20 children or so, members of Morningside United Methodist Church and I volunteered in recreation, science, arts, storytelling, making snacks and much singing and laughter. This year the children of the community learned about Japan, Zimbabwe, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Australia. Most importantly though they learned about the importance of being good neighbors.

One might think that children don’t remember much and just enjoy playing games, running around and cutting things up but many children learned the most important thing, it is important to be a good person and kind to others. A third grader, also my brother, Luis, was able to recount stories, about people sharing their food, having faith in God that he will provide, being a good samaritan and so on. The first graders would remember how to greet others based on the country of the day and remember lyrics to songs that were native to the country of the day and sang at the ending ceremony.

Priceless! That is how I would describe this week! Nothing is better than a child singing and saying that they are going to try and be a good neighbor by sharing their toys. Or the laughter and smiles in breaking the pinata! The amazement and slight caution in touching the cactus or the twinkle in their eyes when they finally completed their origami crane.

These activities enlighten children and brings life to their mind, where they begin to ask questions and delve into trying to understand the world or simply becoming aware that WE ARE ALL THE SAME, we are people who want to love and be loved, laugh and have someone makes us laugh. The children learned to care for those ALL AROUND THE WORLD because WE ARE ALL THE SAME, children of God whom he loves equally! Until next year!

 

“No one has yet fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure.” ~Emma Goldman