Staff
With January being “Alzheimer Awareness Month,” the Alzheimer Society of Kenora-Rainy River District has plenty plans to spread awareness and raise funds.
One of the biggest events is its fifth-annual “Chefs’ Charitable Dinner and Auction” coming up Sunday, Jan. 24 at the Adventure Inn here.
Executive director Margaret Schonewille said Monday that plans for the fundraiser are well underway.
Costing $50 each (which includes a $25 tax receipt), tickets are being sold at the Adventure Inn, La Flambée, Lee Garden, and Emo Inn or directly from Schonewille by contacting her at 1-800-682-0245 (Visa and Mastercard accepted).
Instead of a buffet, this year’s meal will feature a prime rib entrée with salad, potatoes, and vegetables, as well as a selection of desserts.
“They will be able to choose what cut they would like, the wellness of how it’s cooked,” noted Schonewille.
The evening also will feature a penny table, silent auction, entertainment, and perhaps a live auction if organizers can land an auctioneer.
If you would like to donate auction items, or volunteer that evening, call Schonewille at 1-800-682-0245 or e-mail her at alzheimers@kenora.com
Last January’s dinner was the best one yet—raising about $6,200.
Meanwhile, the annual “Penny for Your Thoughts” weigh-in is scheduled to take place at Canadian Tire here on Friday, Jan. 22 from 4-7 p.m. and again Saturday, Jan. 23 from 8:30 a.m.-noon.
There will be prizes for the individual and the group that brings in the most pennies.
Schonewille said they don’t have to be rolled, but added rolled pennies should not be unrolled.
“Tell the ladies that it’s only the pennies that get weighed. They don’t have to get on the scale,” she chuckled.
“There’s nothing that’s going to represent their weight.”
Schonewille noted the penny weigh-in, which is held in Fort Frances, Kenora, Dryden, and Sioux Lookout, brings in about $2,000 each year—not bad considering that equates to 200,000 pennies.
This will be followed by the Linda Johnston Memorial roast beef dinner in Rainy River on the evening of Saturday, Jan 23.
Tickets for that event cost $12 each, which are available at the Rainy River Record office.
But act quick because they sell out fast.
Also this month, placemats with information about Alzheimer’s disease will be distributed to select restaurants in the two districts.
As well, Schonewille said January is the perfect time to book her and her husband, public education co-ordinator Rev. Dr. Dick Schonewille, to come and speak to service clubs and other groups about Alzheimer’s disease.
“We would be thrilled to come and talk,” she enthused. “A lot of groups, like the Legions and Lions and things like that, have people come in and speak.
“We are always more than anxious to come down and share about the disease and the work we do.”
Just call her at 1-800-682-0245.
The Alzheimer Society also is putting out a call for Rainy River District residents to submit photos they can use in the 2010-11 cash calendar.
To find out about the rules for entering photos, call Schonewille at 1-800-682-0245 or e-mail her at alzheimers@kenora.com
A little further down the road, Schonewille is hoping to hold a sixth-annual book sale at Revco Carpet here this winter, but has to talk to owner Dave Petsnick first before setting a date for what has become a much-anticipated fundraiser for local book worms.
Proceeds from fundraising events of the Alzheimer Society of Kenora-Rainy River District go towards further promotion of Alzheimer awareness and education in both districts—not to a provincial or national organization.
