Despite the cancellation of the 2020 Aware Affair, Aware Dallas President Barbara Glass has already started regrouping for 2021. She has revealed that the annual fundraising Aware Affair‘s “Celebrate The Moments” would honor Barbara Sypult with the Inaugural Founders Award and Gail Plummer with the Amy Osler Spirit of Education Leadership Award, who were to have been celebrated at the canceled fundraiser.
Instead of having the typical event chair, there will be 21 women (Carol Stabler, Barbara Glass, Stacey Jones Angel, Sharon Ballew, Stephanie Bray, Janet Broyles, Emily Collins, Karen Carney, Cheryl Chantillis, Kay Hammond, Jolie Humphrey, Karisti Julia, Josey Kennington, Wendy Kumpf, Paige Rippey Locke, Becky Mills, Holly Miori, Gail Plummer, Barbara Sypult, Venise Stuart and Sharon Walker) who will “share the responsibilities.
While the exact date and location are still to be announced, the 20 beneficiaries will be
- Baylor Scott And White Dallas Foundation: Salary support for the Baylor AT&T Memory Center to provide a trained specialist on site at the Center. At the point of care patients and families are provided with disease education, caregiver training and support groups, elder law and financial planning, and a 24/7 helpline.
- Bishop Arts Theatre Center: Support for the Silver Stories Storytelling Circle, a continuing program incorporating stories, music, visual arts, and dance to improve the quality of life for individuals with Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
- Casa De Vida: Support for the Casa de Vida program at NorthPark Presby-terian Church giving respite relief to caregivers by providing trained volunteer one-on-one care for individuals with Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
- Dallas Arboretum And Botanical Society: Support for expansion of the Memory Garden nature program that incorporates horticulture, conversations, and crafts to enrich the life of those affected by Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
- Dallas Museum of Art: Support for Meaningful Moments, a DMA program designed to provide participants with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias and their families or caregivers with ways to engage in art, providing a continuing cultural opportunity regardless of the abilities.
- Ed-U-Care: Support for a symposium designed to educate caregivers about Compassion Fatigue and build resilient professionals and family members caring for individuals with Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
- For Love And Art: Support to bring the art experience to people with cognitive impairment and limited mobility in long term care facilities to stimulate art enrichment and memories while empowering caregivers to love people in creative and transformative ways.
- Highland Park United Methodist Church: Support for the Journey Program, a no-fee program designed to allow participants with early stage Alzheimer’s and other dementias to thrive, while giving their caregivers much-needed respite.
- Jewish Family Services: Support for the Older Adults Program staff to provide in-home mental health counseling, care management, and daily living support to older adults with Alzheimer’s and other dementias, allowing them to remain living in their own home.
- Juliette Fowler Communities: Support for facility dementia care programs, including the expansion of “I’m Still Here,” a six-month intensive dementia care training program for staff members throughout the Fowler communities.
- Plano Symphony Orchestra: Support for Healing Notes, a free music-therapy program targeted toward low-income seniors dealing with Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
- The Senior Source: Support for the Senior Companions program matching trained volunteers with low income individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and their families needing assistance with meals, errands, and light housekeeping, providing caregivers with respite and/or time to work outside the home.
- The Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University: Support for the Meadows Museum memory care programs, which provides social and emotional support to those with Alzheimer’s and other dementias, their care givers and partners through engagement with art.
- Texas Health Resources: Support for the outpatient memory care program to provide cognitive stimulation therapy, a short-term evidence-based intervention for individuals with mild to moderate dementia.
- Stomping Ground Comedy: Support for the Improv for Caregivers program, a therapeutic and psycho-educational workshop that uses improvisational comedy techniques to teach caregivers effective communication skills that are specific to the needs of Alzheimer’s patients.
- The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center: Support for research to develop a formula that estimates how much time a patient might have from initial diagnosis of Alzheimer’s to the need for full-time care.
- Texas Winds Musical Outreach: Support for the Concerts for Seniors program providing interactive concerts in 95 nursing homes and adult day care facilities bringing joy, relief from isolation, and peace to individuals affected by memory loss.
- Visiting Nurses Association of Texas: Support to evaluate clients of the Meals on Wheels program with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and other dementias for need of a higher level of care.
- Wilshire Baptist Church: Support for the Friday Friends Program addressing the need to provide respite for those who care for a dementia relative at home, and who have little or no assistance for relieving them of the constant care and supervision of their loved one, while providing a stimulating day of art, music and games for the individual with Alzheimer’s.
- Myrna D. Schlegel Aware Scholarship Fund: Support for scholarships for nursing students at Baylor University, Texas Woman’s University, and Texas Christian University toward their studies in gerontology, especially in the field of dementia.
* Graphic/photo provided by Aware Dallas