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Category: Giving Back

Coffee Break® brings the community together

Coffee Break® brings the community together

For the past few years, Verna Mowat has been hosting a Coffee Break® event on her family farm in the Westman region of Manitoba. Despite wind and rain, people in the community venture down the gravel road to Verna’s farm, where a smile and a warm cup of coffee are waiting for each Coffee Break guest. “Lots of people from the community all come out – from Cypress, Glenboro, even neighbours down the road. I think we had 35 people…

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What do you want your legacy to be?

What do you want your legacy to be?

What is it about human beings that we all want to be remembered, be known as more than merely ordinary,  be seen as someone who truly made a difference, leave a mark and maybe even make the future a little brighter? I have been working in the area of estate planning for many years, and I have asked the question – “What do you want your legacy to be” to thousands of people. But I had never been asked that…

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Me? A Super Hero?

Me? A Super Hero?

Some of the biggest box-office hits in the past couple of years focus on Super Heroes…Batman, Captain America, Black Widow…. Super Heroes appear when the planet is under siege from evil and somehow, against all odds, save the day. It’s fun to fantasize about having a Super Hero in your own life to save the day. But here at the Alzheimer Society, we believe everyone has the potential to be a Super Hero, including YOU! But first, let me tell…

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Why I made my Will

Why I made my Will

A few months ago I was boarding an airplane to Mexico with my husband…without our daughter, who at the time was 10 months old. Until that point, I had not been away from my daughter for more than a few hours. I dreamed about sleeping in, but I cried at the thought of leaving her. I was also thinking about how my husband and I would be on the plane together. Should something terrible happen, I had nothing written down…

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What do you want YOUR legacy to be?

What do you want YOUR legacy to be?

For those of us working for a charity, the word “legacy” means a thoughtful charitable gift, a gift left in your Will. But there could be another meaning: how did you show up in the world? In other words, aside from the dollars distributed from your estate, how do you want to be remembered? What do you want YOUR legacy to be? How do you show up in the world? Most of us strive to be the best possible person…

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Canadians do something AMAZING for Alzheimer’s during World Alzheimer’s Month

Canadians do something AMAZING for Alzheimer’s during World Alzheimer’s Month

My mother had Alzheimer’s disease and I saw firsthand its impact on my family. That’s why I believe research into the cause and cure is critical. With over 47 million people in the world living with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia, this is a problem that touches everyone. This year, the Alzheimer Society encouraged Canadians to do something AMAZING for Alzheimer’s research during September, the global World Alzheimer’s Month™ campaign to raise awareness and challenge stigma. I stepped up as…

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Why I work for the Alzheimer Society

Why I work for the Alzheimer Society

Elizabeth Barrie is a First Link® outreach worker for the Alzheimer Society of Oxford. She shares her personal connection to the disease. What is your connection to Alzheimer’s disease? My mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease when I was parenting three young daughters. I had to juggle the expectations of motherhood with the demands of supporting my parents as they navigated the uncharted waters of dementia. Never one to complain or dwell on the negative, Mom continued to participate actively…

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My run for Alzheimer research

My run for Alzheimer research

Chris Dennis is the CEO of the Alzheimer Society of Ontario. Even though I ran half a dozen marathons in my youth, 20 years on preparing for number seven wasn’t as easy as I thought. Since I received my son’s ‘Christmas gift,’ which entailed signing us both up for the Ottawa Marathon six months down the road, I have trained through rain and snow. And then, just to add a little pressure, I decided to turn my run into a…

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Al Burridge was a true Dementia Champion

Al Burridge was a true Dementia Champion

When the Alzheimer Society of Ontario began the Champions for Dementia initiative in 2010, we were seeking to engage people with lived experience of dementia in advocacy activities with their Members of Provincial Parliament (MPP) and the Ontario government. I remember receiving notice from the Alzheimer Society of Oxford that they had identified a perfect candidate to be their Dementia Champion – Al Burridge. From day one, Al was a model Dementia Champion. Soon after joining, Ontario had an election….

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On May 16, I’m planting hope for a world without Alzheimer’s

On May 16, I’m planting hope for a world without Alzheimer’s

Every spring, I can’t wait to get my trowel in hand and bring my garden back to life again. It’s a ritual of rebirth that allows me to put even the worst of winters behind me. And it seems as if this interest has finally aligned with another passion: creating a world without Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia. That’s what makes me so excited about our campaign. On May 16, we are encouraging Ontarians to plant Forget Me Not seeds. …

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