On June 20, the day of the summer solstice, the Alzheimer’s Association kicked off a fundraising campaign called The Longest Day.
The campaign, which lasts through mid-August, calls on fundraisers to use their creativity. Because of the need for caution during the pandemic, participants can come up with their own ways to raise money from at-home or other socially distant activities. Those could include biking, knitting, playing card games and many other things that allow the participant to take part in a favorite activity while raising money for the cause.
According to the organization, Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. Alzheimer’s, as well as other forms of dementia, affect more than 5 million Americans, including more than 96,000 Alabamians.
Among those raising funds for the campaign were Vestavia Hills residents Catherine Poellnitz and Cole Tenners, each calling on their talents to create fundraising opportunities for the campaign.
Penny Wars
Poellnitz enlisted the help of members of the youth group she leads at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Vestavia Hills.
“When I was asked about fundraising for the Alzheimer’s Association, I immediately said yes because one of their biggest goals is looking for a cure, looking for something that can help the disease, doing research and fundraising,” Poellnitz said.
Her group for seventh through ninth graders competed against her group for 10th through 12th graders in “Penny War” to see who could raise the most money. While the groups couldn’t meet in typical fashion, members each collected pennies in jars, which Poellnitz collected and combined throughout the month.
“I think it is so nice to think that something so small, like even a penny, could help … this wonderful association that’s trying to fight Alzheimer’s,” Poellnitz said.
She participated in the fundraiser in honor of her grandmother, who died with Alzheimer’s disease when Poellnitz was in middle school.
Poellnitz recalls her many visits to see her grandmother. She said it was hard as the disease progressed to the point that her grandmother did not recognize her or anyone in her family besides her grandfather.
“(My grandfather) was always a light spot in the darkness of the whole disease,” she said, adding that he made it a point to feed his wife at least one meal each day. “She lit up right as he came in the room, and just being able to see that happen made things easier.”
Even after her grandmother’s death, Alzheimer’s and dementia remain ever-present worries for Poellnitz. Though still a young adult, she worries about showing early signs of memory loss when she misplaces her keys or notices other instances of general forgetfulness.
“I feel silly because it’s something so simple, but it’s definitely a concern,” said Poellnitz.
“The Alzheimer’s Association is amazing. The work that they do for research and looking for a way to find a cure and fundraising for those things – it’s amazing and I look forward to continuing to help them any way that I can,” said Poellnitz.
Gaming for Research
Sixteen-year-old Cole Tenners was ready to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association before he even knew about The Longest Day fundraiser, reaching out to his local chapter in the early summer to see how he could help out.
When representatives told him about The Longest Day fundraiser, he decided to utilize his love of video games to generate money for the campaign.
Tenners hosted a 24-hour live-stream session of himself playing videogames on the online streaming platform Twitch, beginning at midnight June 9. Throughout the session, he provided a link to the Alzheimer’s Association where viewers could donate.
He noted that the only people who donated at first were his family members. So, to get the attention of more viewers, he reached out to a larger Twitch streamer who goes by the username iSpotYouDrop.
“I asked … if he would like to help me with it and he said he was closely affected by Alzheimer’s as well, so he came in and donated some and participated,” said Tenners.
Tenners’ own drive to support the mission of the Alzheimer’s Association began with his grandfather.
Though his grandfather died when Tenners was 7 years old, he began to decline mentally when Tenners was about 4 to 5 years old. Tenners notes that the disease took away the opportunity to build a memorable relationship with his grandfather.
“I was just thinking about how all of my friends get to go hang out with their grandfathers and go fishing with them,” Tenners said. “I never really got to do that, so I wanted to do something about it.
“There’s always been that deep void missing there that we never had filled,” said Tenners.
Fueled by his memories of his grandfather, Tenners participates in the fundraiser to promote research efforts.
“We have 40, 50 or 60 years of our age before we can even get diagnosed with this disease, so I want to try and do something before that can even happen to me,” Tenners said. “I don’t want that to happen.”
The Longest Day fundraiser continues through mid-August. For more information, visit alz.org/thelongestday.
– Emily Williams
