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Home Instead Senior Care of Suffolk holds its third annual Alzheimer’s Fundraiser Friday, Sept. 22. 

Located at the Home Instead main office, 2000 Hillpoint Blvd., the event runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a bake sale, a 50/50 raffle with prizes, yard-sale styled items for purchase and a $5.00 donation-based lunch of hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and a drink. All proceeds go to the Alzheimer Association of Tidewater. 

Home Instead Client Care Coordinator Deneen Evans said the fundraiser was inspired by the Alzheimer’s Association’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s event that Home Instead participates in.

“We participate in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s of Western Tidewater, every year we do that,” Evans said. “So we decided to have a ‘spinoff’ of that in having a small fundraiser here in our local office and we have invited our care professionals and their families, friends, our local businesses in the area to have them come out and support us to raise awareness and funds to find a cure for this dreadful disease.”

Evans said they hope to raise $1,000, but notes that “more is welcomed.” 

“We’re hoping in addition to our regular Walk to End Alzheimer’s that we have online and donations, with this fundraiser it’s going to be hopefully more. It’s a lot of fun,” she said.

Evans reflected on working with clients suffering from Alzheimer’s. She noted how Home Instead has a training program held by Linda Britt, R.N., B.S.N., to prepare caregivers to give clients the proper care. 

“It teaches the caregivers about the symptoms of ways to redirect behavior so to speak. When you’re working with somebody with Alzheimer’s. It does affect their thinking, their memory, their skills for doing all their activities of daily living. So some need a lot of help with those activities of daily living and some don’t need as much,” Evans said. “But the caregiver in the home [is] supporting the family, supporting the client, just giving them a better quality of life.”

Evans also emphasizes how primary caregivers are impacted when giving care to clients with Alzheimer’s.  

“It’s very strenuous to have to care for someone with Alzheimer’s, especially in the mid to late stages. So some of the money can go to support the families efforts to care for their loved one at home,” she said.

Evans said their primary goal is to inform everyone the serious nature of Alzheimer’s in the community for care professionals and “the Alzheimer Association has on caring for those who are living with Alzheimer’s or somebody caring for someone with Alzheimer’s.”

Editor’s note: Updated first passage at 5:43 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 21 to reflect correct day.