Alzheimer group holds state-wide quilting bee

Alzheimer’s Resource of Alaska (ARA) is hosting its first-ever Unity Quilting Bee this year to celebrate its 30-year anniversary.

Alaskans whose lives have been affected by Alzheimer’s are being invited to send in

12-inch by 12-inch cotton squares, decorated to reflect their unique ways of life. Squares are being accepted through Oct. 15. When assembled, the quilt will celebrate the state’s diversity while also reflecting unity in a common cause.

The Anchorage-based ARA has been dedicated for the last 30 years to spreading

awareness of Alzheimer’s

disease and related dementias to Alaskan communities, including Wrangell. In 2013 the organization assisted 2,444 clients in the state; 108 of these were residents of eight communities in the Southeast.

The organization offers educational training and support services from four regional offices, but traveling specialists make themselves available to all Alaskan communities.

The ARA has in recent years been making use of technology to reach out, such as holding monthly web-based seminars, or “webinars,” for training.

“We try to be as innovative as possible to reach as

many people as possible,” said Lisa Wawrzonek, the ARA’s education director.

The unity quilt is something new ARA is trying as part

of its outreach to raise awareness for National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month in November. Persons whose squares are selected for

inclusion will receive a poster of the completed quilt.

“We’re hoping to have it

finished by November and display it at our conference,” said Wawrzonek.

This year’s annual

conference will be held Nov. 12-13 at the Egan Center in Anchorage. More information about the event and organization can be found at their website, http://www.alzalaska.org.

ARA is also holding its third annual writing contest,

collecting essays or stories on the topic of celebrating life’s

precious moments. Ending Nov. 21, the grand prize for the

contest is 40,000 miles on Alaska Airlines. Further

information can also be found on their website, or at the Wrangell Sentinel office.