Be a Hero

Tis the giving season of course. Every year from October to January, the airwaves are full of commercials reminding us to get the perfect gift for friends or family or face the consequences of sour faces and attitudes. Then on the other side, we know we should give because it's morally good. Not for selfish reasons, though if we dig deep down psychologically, we know it is narcissistic to give. You want to feel good about yourself, but anyway, whatever your reasons, it's good to help where you can. Whether it be as simple as hanging a few new hats and gloves from a donation tree, donating last years sweaters and pants to Good Will, or even participating in Sears Heroes at Home online programme. Where you can help out military husbands and wives to make the holiday season easier and happy.


Christmas may be over, but it's not too late to donate to the Heroes at Home Wish Registry. It's very easy too, visit the website and you'll see several families with personal stories and wishlists. You can donate money directly to the families, or do a general donation that will be spread equally among all the families. These donations may not be tax deductible, but does it matter if you're able to bring a smile to a spouse or child of a parent in the military?

It's never too late to give, especially in this bad economic state when many people need help.

ZooToo

I love my cat. He means the world to me and I always feel pangs of sadness when I'm away at school. At 15, he's an old fart, but he's my old fart of a cat. I'm really a cat person, I don't like dogs as much and I really never want to own one, but I still support animal shelters and all that they do. Any non-profit organization that rescues pets is okay in my book. I really enjoy watching Animal Cops on Animal Planet, it's a sad show but also uplifting in that you get to see these poor animals either find good homes, or get put down humanely and thus ending their pain.

Really, I support the ASPCA and the Humane Society which is prominently featured on Animal Cops. We adopted my cat from a Denver Human Society outpost in a Petsmart, and I'm so glad we did. I'm not alone in wanting to support my pet shelter of choice, and it's easier than ever to do so. Zootoo is a great go-to site for pet lovers. You can create a profile, that includes your pet of choice, and gain points to support your local pet shelter and rescue center. It's free, and easy, and the site itself is a great resource for anything pet related. It's got classifieds, individual shelter pages with reviews, and a great help-out section with tips and opportunities to assist your favourite animal sanctuary. Really, it's a fantastic website and I'm glad to see a large community of animal lovers out there supporting such a good cause.

The ASPCA and Humane Society along with smaller shelters need all the help they can get. Non-profit ogranizations such as these need our support so they can continue to provide a great service to the local animal population. I've adopted from a shelter and I plan to do so again. But in the meantime, I'll assist from online.

Walk for A Cause 2008

The annual Alzheimer's Memory Walk is back and ready to raise more money than ever for this great cause!



Walking for a cause is always a great way to participate in a charity without feeling like you're being guilted in. It's a healthy, pleasant, experience and you feel great afterwords knowing that just by walking 2-3 miles, you've made a difference in somebody's life. The Alzheimer's Memory Walk is the United State's largest fundrasing event for Alzheimer support and care.

There are more than 600 walks that occur throughout the US, and the Alzheimer's Association is always looking for more team captains. If you're a team captain, you can start your own group and invite family and friends to walk with you. You can gain sponsors as well to help with the cause. These walks are held on weekends in the Fall all over America, so you don't even have to worry about taking time off from your Mon-Fri job!

It requires very little to commit to a walk for Alzheimer's, but it means so much to the cause.

Forget Me Not

A few weeks ago we held a celebration for my grandmother's birthday. She always seems so happy at these get-togethers, and my other grandmother was invited as well. One thing I notice though is that there is always one certain person absent for every single family get-together, my cousin Steve.

Steve's reason for not attending has to do with him trying to distance himself from the family. It really all goes back to when he walked in a room to find my grandfather dead. Steve was quite young back then, so this was rather traumatic for him, not that it helped that my grandfather had been suffering from Alzheimer's for a little while making their relationship somewhat strained.

This is a long and roundabout way to get to the point of how such a disease can impact everyone around the person. My grandfather's lack of memory caused all the relatives to treat him differently, and disconnected Steve more from the family. At that time I was less than a year old, so I never knew my grandfather and frankly, I don't think I would want to know him in the last year of his life. It's better to think about a person at their best, not when they've lost recognition.

I don't think there is one person here who hasn't had an encounter with someone with Alzheimer's. It's a powerful disease that can tear couples apart, and leave children frustrated and sad. How would you feel if your own father didn't recognize you anymore? Or your wife?

I know there are probably several people out there who haven't been diagnosed with Alzheimer's yet, and I feel bad for their family. Families who might be ignorant, and just think that granny's gone off the deep end.

Rapidly, ignorance towards Alzheimer's is decreasing and funding for more research and cures is increasing. The Alzheimer's Association is doing their part in fighting for the cure for Alzheimer's in their own great way.

They're sponsoring a charity memory walk that will take place all across the country.




The walk is 2-3 miles long and it's well worth it. The Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk website makes it easy to locate a walk that's happening right in your area. You can search by zip code, chapter, or state. Or, if you can't find a local walk, start your own chapter!

Right now what the Alzheimer's Association really needs are more team captains. If you can't participate in an actual walk, it's a fantastic way to still help out the cause. Once you find a local chapter, sign up online for a team captain position. The earlier you sign up, the more time you'll have to raise funds and gather a team together. After you register, you'll have access to your own web site where you can track your fundraising.

Getting a team together can be composed of everyone from relatives to co-workers to classmates. The larger your team, the more donations you'll be likely to receive.

This is all for a great cause and I really do respect groups that value researching such important causes. Alzheimer's is a little too common, it deteriorates relationships and causes great heartache. Nobody wants to wake up next to someone that doesn't recognize them and I'm sure you don't want to find yourself in a situation where you're completely lost.

This isn't something that affects a small group, it can happen to anyone. We all must face the fact that with age comes problems, but we don't have to accept Alzheimer's as one of them.