(Touchmark’s residents and staff raise more than $30,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association | Photo courtesy of Touchmark at Mount Bachelor Village)
For individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and their caregivers, every day is The Longest Day. Worldwide, an estimated 50 million people live with Alzheimer’s and other dementia diseases, and it is this nation’s fifth-leading cause of death. More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s, including 69,000 individuals in Oregon. And the numbers continue to rise.
August 31 marked the official end of fundraising for The Longest Day, which is held each year in June on and around the summer solstice — The Longest Day. The Touchmark at Mount Bachelor Village retirement community has topped its fundraising every year, and even during this pandemic, Touchmark residents and team members set out again to raise a record amount of money for the Alzheimer’s Association and its work in the Bend community.
“This year, we wanted to beat last year’s record, which was $16,000, so our 2020 goal was to raise $20,000,” says Touchmark Health & Fitness Director Elizabeth Rupar. She, along with staff from the Life Enrichment/Wellness and Health & Fitness teams, create and organize fun events each year to raise funds for the Alzheimer’s Association. In the past, they have staged communitywide runs and walks as well as last year’s Beatles tribute concert at the Tower Theatre.
COVID-19 Constraints Spur Creativity
This year, Rupar came up with the idea of a bikeathon and shared it with Paul White, one of the residents who regularly rides his bike. A core group of seven bike riders enthusiastically embraced the idea. Starting on June 1, they rode their regular- and power-assisted bikes as Rupar took care of all the fundraising details.
An avid bike rider for years, Lowell Pearce, 85, tallied 721 of the group’s 3,500 total mileage. “The idea really took off, and the group bonded,” says Pearce. “Most of us are in our 80s, and on more than half of the days, we rode with others. I did six days of more than 20 miles. I also had days where I rode more than 30 or 40 miles and even had one 60-mile day. More people heard about what we were doing and wanted to donate, and so we just kept going as long as people were willing to donate money to this worthwhile cause.”
Rupar says the bikeathon alone raised $12,106.93. Nan Bogdan, 84, earned the most through her pedaling, raising an impressive $1,791.83.
In addition to the bikeathon, Rupar explains that contributions came from various fundraising efforts and dozens of individual donations. For example, the retirement community sold 900 roses, which added another $4,500. Team members also donated their services or handmade items to raise money. “There was no limit to the creativity people came up with, not to mention the fun that we all had,” she says.
When all the events were done, and the donations were counted, Touchmark raised $30,025.29!
“The Touchmark at Mount Bachelor Village team has been a wonderful ally for The Longest Day over the years,” says Stephanie Foster, event manager for The Longest Day at the Alzheimer’s Association Oregon & Southwest Washington Chapter. “They are our top team and contributed 21 percent of the total funds raised in our region in 2020. We are so grateful to Touchmark for their support of The Longest Day and Walk to End Alzheimer’s, in Central Oregon and across the region.”
Rupar and the bike riders are looking forward to raising money again next year. While Touchmark hasn’t determined its 2021 goal yet, residents and team members alike are already gearing up for another record-setting effort.
