We hope this update finds our NAZADA Community Supporters and your family well and enjoying the fall breezes and autumn leaves in northern Arizona.
We want to provide you an update on our progress as well as upcoming events. We also hope that you can see all the good work NAZADA is doing in our community and will be inspired to join us. Currently we have the opportunity to add a new leadership position, a Membership/Volunteer Coordinator.
Thank you to those that joined us for our first annual Cherish the Moments’ walk at Buffalo Park. The day dawned sunny, and it continued throughout the morning to make it a wonderful day for an important walk that raised awareness and funds. Our 182 walkers along with all our wonderful sponsors, helped us raise more than $7,500 to support our programs for caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD).
Our Education Committee has been hard at work hosting and planning opportunities to provide quality information for caregivers of people with ADRD. For our September event Margie Bentzen a 32-year veteran of the Flagstaff Police Department talked about how to address safety concerns regarding a loved one with ADRD. These concerns included home, driving and firearms safety.
In June we finished up our series about end-of-life caregiving with Debbie James and Ether Pipoly, and we are so grateful to them for bringing their knowledge to Northern Arizona. Please visit the NAZADA Youtube page to view this series, and check out what other educational videos are available Northern Arizona Alzheimer’s and Dementia Alliance – YouTube
The Majestic Mountain Café finished its first year of operation in August. The Café has been given the opportunity to utilize space at a beautiful place, The Bluffs Senior Living of Flagstaff. They are very kindly doing this for FREE! Staff there is wonderful and have been very helpful.
The Activities over the summer included planting flower and vegetable seeds in cups which the guests took home to grow; reflections on favorite memories of Independence Day celebrations; and past travel experiences which included them sharing their photographs and stories. The travel event really caught everyone’s attention and people who didn’t participate at our prior events became engaged. It was very exciting to see this!
The September meeting was delightful. At the suggestion of our guests, we focused on dogs. Guests were invited to bring their well-behaved canine to the meeting. One family brought their dog, Dibs, while others brought pictures of their dogs. Several residents of The Bluffs who had dogs joined us. Guests made no-bake dog treats, rolled them into small balls, and packaged them in bags that were taken to High Country Humane. Everyone had a great time. Even the folks who tend to be very quiet joined in the camaraderie.
If you know someone who would benefit from the Café experience, please have them email us at info@nazada.org.
One more wonderful news item to share is that our website has been refreshed with new content and easier to navigate pages and links. Please visit our Homepage – NAZADA and also make note of our upcoming events.
We also want to thank those who attended our first Meet and Greet event at Taverna this month. There were many smiles and hugs as our current volunteers were able to celebrate the successes of our events this year and share our excitement for future events with all of the interested volunteers that attended. We will have some new people with fresh ideas to help us plan our 2023 activities.
As you can see, we have been very busy and are pleased with our ability to offer these programs. NAZADA has no funding sources and is dependent on support of people in our community. All that we offer is available free of charge. As you start to think about your year-end, tax deductible giving we hope that NAZADA will be on your list. You can donate through our Ways to Give – NAZADA website page, or you can send a check payable to NAZADA c/o Susan Butler, 1600 W. University Ave., Suite 209, Flagstaff AZ 86001. We would be grateful for any amount that you may choose to give.
With best wishes to you and your family for the upcoming holiday season,
NAZADA Board of Directors
