Crystal Sale Friday To Benefit Alzheimer's Association

WEST NYACK, NY — With Mother’s Day around the corner, a fundraiser set for this evening in Rockland County offers an opportunity to find a great gift and help fight Alzheimer’s at the same time.

Colleen Pierson, who is the marketing chair for the Rockland Walk to End Alzheimer’s, will host a sale of Touchstone Crystal starting at 6 p.m. tonight at her home at 15 Adele Road in West Nyack. A percentage of every sale will benefit the Alzheimer’s Association.

Pierson became involved with the cause because her aunt, also of Rockland County, has Alzheimer’s.

“Even though I’m only one person, one person can still make a change and get other people involved,” she said.

She said she had a close relationship with her aunt and uncle.

“We used to spend a lot of time with her. She and my uncle were closest to where we lived when we were growing up,” Pierson said.

She recounted the first time she realized something was amiss with her aunt.

“Every day we would go on walks, and we’d go past my Aunt Rosie’s house. I called her up one night, and said ‘We’re going to come see you,’ and she said, ‘Who is this?’ When I said it was her niece, she said she didn’t have a niece,” Pierson said. “Now she wouldn’t know my name, or who my girls are, or my husband. She can’t have full conversations anymore.”

She said that her uncle, who is her aunt’s primary caregiver, attends a support group offered by the Alzheimer’s Association.

“My uncle does a support group once a week. It’s tough for him, but he’s a strong man, and he has lots of family behind him to help,” Pierson said.

Pierson said that volunteering for the Alzheimer’s Association has helped her personally.

“I feel better. I’m doing it for others, but it is actually because it affects me that I’m doing it,” she said, adding that the Walk to End Alzheimer’s is important not only as a fundraiser but also as a means of raising awareness of Alzheimer’s disease.

“I would like people to join us and raise awareness. It’s not just about memory loss; other parts of the body shut down. There are different signs that people don’t see at first, and then something major happens, and then they realize it’s Alzheimer’s.”

The Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Last year, the Hudson Valley Chapter’s five walks raised more than $1 million.

The Alzheimer’s Association’s mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. Its vision is a world without Alzheimer’s.

Visit http://www.alz.org/hudsonvalley or call 800.272.3900.

If you go

• What: Touchstone Crystal fundraiser for Alzheimer’s Association.
• When: 6 p.m. Friday, May 4
• Where: Home of Colleen Pierson, 15 Adele St., West Nyack, NY 10994

If you go

• What: Rockland Walk to End Alzheimer’s
• Where: Provident Bank Ball Park (Home of the Rockland Boulders), 1 Provident Bank Park Drive, Pomona.
• When: Registration starts at 9 a.m.; opening ceremony starts at 10 a.m., followed by the walk at 10:30 a.m.
• Contact: Karen Finnegan at 914.839.0684 or kfinnegan@alz.org
• Register: RocklandWalk.org

Logo: Alzheimer's Association.