Children of all ages clapped and cheered during an outdoor assembly on June 11 at St. Louis de Montfort School in Orcutt, as students from Mrs. Cindy Hubbard’s fifth grade class announced that they raised a grand total of $1,047.45 for the Central Coast chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.
The organization provides resources and support to people and families dealing with Alzheimer’s Disease, a progressive and fatal form of dementia.
At the assembly, the chapter’s area coordinator, Roy Allen, presented Hubbard and her students with a commemorative plaque in honor of the class’ efforts.
“This is phenomenal,” Allen said. “This check means a lot [to the organization] and it’s going to go far. Thank you very much.”
Hubbard, whose students have been donating to the organization since 1997, said that she chose the Alzheimer’s Association because “a lot of students either have a family member or know someone with Alzheimer’s.”
During the school year, the students raised the money through fundraisers, including a bake sale and a pumpkin raffle. The money will go toward funding the Alzheimer’s Association’s annual Memory Walk, which is scheduled for Oct. 4 at Waller Park in Santa Maria.
On top of raising funds, the students read The Graduation of Jake Moon by Barbara Book, a novel about a young boy whose grandfather, Skelly, suffers from Alzheimer’s Disease. The novel focuses on Jake’s changing relationship with his grandfather as Skelly’s condition continues to worsen.
“The book really showed that Alzheimer’s affects more than just the person who has it,” said Brigid Rigali, a fifth-grader in Mrs. Hubbard’s class. “Families have to spend more time with their parents and grandparents and really watch over them.
“I hope the money we raised will help find a cure for Alzheimer’s so people who have it can remember things,” she said.
Loretta Redd, executive director of the Alzheimer’s Association’s Central Coast chapter, said that she was very moved by the children’s donation.
“The dedication of these children in support of their elders in a cause that we hope to end before their adulthood—that’s what this is all about,” she said.
For more information about the Central Coast chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, visit www.centralcoastalz.org
or call the national 24-hour hotline at 1-800-272-3900.
This article appears in Jun 19-26, 2008.