HAVE A COFFEE TO SUPPORT THE ALZHEIMER SOCIETY!

September 04, 2021

Beginning on September 20, 2007, communities all across Canada will begin raising funds for the Alzheimer Society during “Alzheimer Coffee Break” Month. This annual event, now in its 12th year, is the Alzheimer Society’s major annual fundraiser where friends, co-workers, and customers gather in communities across Canada to raise funds to support local programs and services for people with Alzheimer’s disease, their caregivers, and their families.

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, degenerative disease that affects the brain. Symptoms include loss of memory, difficulty with day-to-day tasks, and changes in mood and behaviour. People may believe these symptoms are part of the normal aging process, but they aren’t. Some of the warning signs to look for are:

• Memory loss that affects day-to-day function
• Difficulty performing familiar tasks
• Problems with language
• Disorientation of time and place
• Poor or decreased judgment
• Problems with abstract thinking
• Misplacing things
• Changes in mood or behaviour
• Changes in personality
• Loss of initiative
  

Alzheimer’s and related diseases affect an estimated 1 in 13 Canadians over the age of 65, or approximately 450,000 people. In 2007, it is estimated that 97,000 Canadians will develop Alzheimer’s or a related disease and by 2011, new cases of dementia will reach 111,430 per year. Furthermore, an estimated 750,000 Canadians will have Alzheimer’s or a related disease by the year 2031, if a cure isn’t found, which stresses the importance of acting now to support funding and research efforts to fight this terrible disease.

You can do your part to help the fight by participating in a “Coffee Break 2007” event on September 20th. Breaks are held as local events, virtually online, and through partnerships with businesses who offer coffee cup cut-outs at retail stores and organizations across Canada. All proceeds raised during Coffee Break” will be used to help fund local programs and services for people with Alzheimer’s disease, their caregivers, and their families. Last year, the event raised a total of $1,132,200 and it is hoped that even more money will be raised this year.

The Business Improvement Area (BIA) of Downtown Orangeville is teaming up with the Alzheimer Society for an especially unique “Coffee Break 2007.” The two groups will attempt to set a world record in the category of “World’s Largest Coffee Morning, Single Venue,” which has no current record, while raising funds for the Alzheimer Society. During “Coffee Break,” the Town of Orangeville will briefly close Broadway from First Street to Wellington Street from 10:00 to 10:30 a.m. During this time, local residents and business people are invited to step into the street to enjoy their morning coffee, tea, juice, water, or snack of any kind. While participants are onsite with coffee in hand, an aerial photograph will be taken of the event, looking east from First Street. Volunteers will be prepared to take signatures of participants, as required by the Guinness World Record organization. For more information on this particular event, please feel free to contact the Alzheimer Society of Dufferin County at 519-941-1221.

I encourage you to participate in this event or any other “Coffee Break” events throughout Dufferin-Caledon on September 20th, to support those living with Alzheimer’s and those who care for them.