Sunday, August 2, 2015

Comments for a Cause - Alzheimer's Lemonade Stand

There are sometimes things just happen.  You get inspired by a small act.  You change your plans.  You make an extra stop in your day.  Well, that happened to me yesterday.  If you have been following my blog over the last couple of years, you know that I have a Comments for a Cause program on my blog and that I announce the new monthly cause on the 1st of each month.  I know some people specifically check each month on the 1st to see what the new cause is and yesterday I didn't post anything.  I had plans to support our community's VBS mission project originally, which still might happen sometime down the road, but my plans changed by stopping at a young man's lemonade stand yesterday.  After talking to him I got inspired and decided I had to change my plans.

I'll talk about my trip to the lemonade stand more, but I don't want to go any further without paying my respect to last month's cause, the Make-A-Wish Kansas City chapter.  Last month I had 79 comments creating a $39.50 donation.  Thank you for helping me support an organization that meant so much to my cousin Jake, who we scattered his ashes in Alaska because of his wish earlier this month.

Now let's talk about yesterday.  I was driving to my Mom's house and saw a young man with a lemonade stand on the side of the road in the town she lives in.  I am a sucker for lemonade stands so I circled the block and pulled up for some lemonade and cookies for myself and my family.  But I ended up getting a lot more than that.  His family had been affected by Alzheimer's Disease.  He wanted to bring awareness to the disease and support research for the disease so he decided to set up a $0.50 lemonade stand for the Alzheimer's Association.  He contacted the organization and got some pamphlets and other support materials to pass out and decorate his lemonade stand with.  I was impressed with his passion and creativity so much that I decided I wanted to continue his efforts by supporting the Alzheimer's Association this month by making a $0.50 donation for every comment on my blog to a cause and passion I was made better aware of from simply visiting a lemonade stand.

I learned a lot from this young man.  Alzheimer's is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior.  Symptoms develop slowly and increase in severity over time, enough to interfere with daily tasks.  There are over 5 million American living with Alzheimer's today and it is estimated that 1 in 3 seniors dies with dementia, which Alzheimer's is the most common.  The number of affected people is expected to double by 2030 and triple by 2050.  This young man stressed how the disease is growing, but there is still no medicine or help to slow, cure or prevent the disease.

So help me spread this young man's lemonade stand Alzheimer's awareness by sharing your experiences with Alzheimer's or dementia in the comment section below.  Because remember, Comment for a Cause!

19 comments:

  1. Aww I'm so so touched by this young mans passion! Our family is supporting my husbands grandfather as he goes through the trials of this horrible disease. Thank you for your support! Awareness goes a long ways too!

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    1. Thoughts and prayers to your husband's grandfather. Thanks for commenting Alicia!

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  2. Thanks for the great cause! Both my grandma's and their moms have/had Alzheimer's so I'm afraid I'm destined unless we find a cure!

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    1. Is it hereditary? With so many people affected by it I'm surprised that there hasn't been advances in a cure, prevention, help, etc.

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  3. What a great cause! That is the sweetest lemonade stand too. How sweet that he would get all of the handouts about the disease for his lemonade stand. Kudos all the way around!

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    1. I really appreciated the amount of effort he put into his lemonade stand. He impressed me!

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  4. What a fabulous cause this month, as always! I love how he really was excited about doing something to help make a difference and I doubt there are many people who have not been touched by this horrible disease in some way or another. Thanks for highlighting it and for taking that extra lap around the block to stop at his stand. :-)

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    1. I'm happy I took the extra lap around the block too! :)

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  5. What a neat young man! That's awesome.

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  6. Such a neat story! I love the cause too as we have had family members with this terrible disease!

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    1. Thanks Katy! Prayers to your family. It is a hard disease to understand and be prepared for.

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  7. Such an outstanding young man, he's on a great mission to educate and raise awareness! Very cool Val, your Comments for a Cause posts are some of my favorite blog posts out there, anywhere. Love what you are doing, send my highest regards to this great kid, I'm so impressed and will be thinking of his family. XOXO

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    1. Thanks Cristen! And thanks for sharing too!

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  8. What an amazing thing he's doing...as are you. Aren't you glad you made the extra trip around the block?

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  9. This is just so cool! What an incredible young man to be thinking about and serving others like this. Thanks for highlighting this.

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  10. He's definitely an inspiration; I'm glad you stopped.

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  11. Val, you continue to inspire me and others! I always look forward to reading your blog and seeing how you are truly "Blooming where you are planted!" Alzheimer's has been a part of my family's life for the past 20+ years and affects everyone in the family - the afflicted, the family, the friends, and the many caregivers. Thank you for making a difference in the life of others.

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    1. Thanks Cathy! I thought of your family a lot when I learned about Alzheimer's this month.

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