May 4-11 was nothing short of amazing for our 5 O’Clock Phlock Parrot Head Club. Partnering with our friends from The Rotary Club of Lake Conroe, we hosted our first Alzheimer’s and Dementia Awareness Week in Memory Park and it was a great success.
Monday the 4th our dedicated volunteers from the two clubs set out 1000 Walk To End ALZ Promise Garden Flowers all around the park – they circled Memory Pond; they were placed in the Linda Ricketts Literacy Garden, in front of The Children’s Walls, at the entrance to the Honor Flight Garden and all throughout The Rainbow Bridge Garden. Fifteen large educational signs dotted the landscape; included on the signs were QR codes to access help lines. Even before we were finished, guests in the park were stopping us to ask about the project.
On Saturday May 9th we returned with our tents, yard games and gifts to spend the day chatting with folks about the support available to caregivers and anyone dealing with The Long Goodbye. We added another 250 pinwheel flowers to dress the entrance to the park at The Shane Carter Rose Garden, We had handouts. We had cups of fish food for everyone to feed the Koi. We had snack. The children spent lots of time under the beautiful ALZ Garden market umbrella relaxing and then playing cornhole. It was very special.
Thanks to recent rains, the park was in full bloom and oh so green. Against that backdrop, spinning in the breeze, the bright colors of the ALZ flowers – blue for those living with Alzheimer’s and other forms of Dementia; yellow for caregivers; purple for those who have lost a loved one and orange for those who support the vision of a world without dementia in all its variants. It was a breathtaking sight. We reached hundreds of people. On Sunday, families were everywhere in the park, celebrating Mother’s Day, visiting the memorials in the park for their loved ones and even more taking graduation and prom pictures.
Monday the 11th we returned for tear down and clean up. We lost about 200 pinwheels to the storms that rolled in Sunday night. It was very symbolic – some we could not save, some need repair, but many more survived to live another day. That is the future we see, full of hope and progress. New treatments are here and a cure IS coming. We believe we will see the first survivors in our lifetime. Many will live, more will remain healthy longer.
We send our unending thanks and gratitude to the staff of the Houston & Southeast Texas Chapter of The Alzheimer’s Association and to our National Teams Reps for their amazing support and guidance. Visit our 5OCP Facebook page and our website to see all the beautiful photos from a week that exceeded our expectations in every way.
No one should fight alone – the ALZ Association is there to help, 24/7. The number is 800-272-3900, staffed by master’s-level dementia experts, providing confidential support and information in over 200 languages. Visit the website at ALZ.org. Together, we CAN do this – we can #ENDALZ.
Kris is President of The 5 O’Clock Phlock Parrot Head Club, the PHC of the Lake Conroe/Woodlands area. Email KrisCommService@gmail.com or text 713 825-0141. Follow the club on Facebook at www.facebook.com/5OClockPhlock. For more info, visit the website www.5oclockphlock.com.