As you probably know, Judy Loubier is passionate about ending Alzheimer’s. Her latest way to help promote Alzheimer’s research was to be part of the Alzheimer’s Association’s fundraiser. The Longest Day Ever is the Alzheimer’s Association fundraiser for research. Judy rowed 25,000 meters to fundraise.
Judy Raises Almost 8K for the Alzheimer’s Association
The point of “The Longest Day” is to spend the longest day of the year, June 21st, doing something you love. All over the country, teams signed up for different beloved activities. For Judy and her friends, that activity was rowing.
They had actually manage to surpass their original fundraising goal of $5,000 and almost made it to $8,000.
Judy especially liked rowing for this fundraiser because there is no cure for Alzheimer’s. All you can really do is stay active, social, and learn new skills or language to keep your brain active.
Rowing has all those components.
The first half of the day, they rowed singles. The second half was dedicated to doubles. They chose 25,000 meters because it was hard.
“It needed to be hard enough because Alzheimer’s is hard,” Judy said. It’s hard on the patient, caregivers, and loved ones. “It had to have meaning.”
They named their team the Clarity Crew: Rowing to Remember.
Judy’s Connection with This Disease
For those who don’t know, Judy’s mom was diagnosed with vascular dementia after a stroke in 2012. Her aunt also has Alzheimer’s.
The struggle that both her mother and father gave her the idea for Seniors Helping Seniors NH. SHS NH has helped hundreds of clients and around 60 to 70% of them had some form of dementia.
Judy’s rowing mates also had family members affected by Alzheimer’s.
You can hear the whole SHS NH origin story here on Judy’s Caring for Seniors radio segment.
Read more about Judy’s fundraising in the Nashua Telegraph here.