A Grand Evening

February 4th, 2012 was the night for the London Middlesex Alzheimer Society's annual Cabin Fever Reliever event. The 'Reliever' is a dinner and auction, and was held at the Best Western Lamplighter Inn. Alysha was invited to bring her bracelets to the event, and sell them throughout the evening.

Alysha and mom, Julie at the sales table.

The bracelets included a selection with semi-precious stones added in, made just for this event. Alysha was lucky enough to be given a prime location at the registration table for the pre-dinner portion of the evening. It was wonderful to have so many new, and familiar faces around for the evening.

Ready for sale!

Alysha entered the evening very close to a major goal. Since her first visit to the Society in March of 2011, close to $900 had been raised through bracelet sales. She had set a goal of $1000 dollars raised in less that one calendar year. Prior to the auction, it was announced that Alysha had less than eighty dollars to go before reaching her target.

We are very pleased to announce that, by the end of the Cabin Fever Reliever, Beads For Memories had surpassed the $1000 mark for the year! The big round of applause from all those at the Cabin Fever Reliever was a huge moment for Alysha, and her mother. The Cabin Fever Reliever crowd donated a total of $230 in this one night alone! Alysha and her family would like to thank everyone who contributed their time to making bracelets, materials to create them, and all those who purchased a bracelet (or a whole bunch) from one of the events Alysha was at over the past year. This evening was a wonderful exclamation point on an incredible year.

Alysha's name will be added to the Major Donors wall for 2011 at the Alzheimer Society offices in June, and she will be the youngest individual ever named on the wall. Alysha couldn't be more thrilled.

Below are a couple of friends who dropped by to pose with Alysha at the event.

Alysha, and Kerry Bruce from the Society

'Aunt' Joan McConnell and Alysha

This is certainly not the end of the road for Beads For Memories, or Alysha and family. We continue to be involved with Alzheimer's fund raising, including the month of February at White Oaks school. As always, if you'd like more information on the project you can contact awlovespets@rogers.com. if you would like to read about Alysha's inspiration for the work that she does, you can read my first post.

Bracelets: Revealed

I was speaking to someone today about Alysha's efforts and her website, and I was asked a very practical question: What do these bracelets look like? Seemed like a fair question, but I didn't have one on me to show the person in question. So, for those who haven't been to an event, here are the kinds of bracelets we've made for the fundraiser.
 

They are all 6 inches long, and made of either glass, plastic, or wooden beads. The quarters are there for size comparison. Unless someone has specifically requested it, there are no two exactly alike. Beads from several different sources at different times keep the variety coming. We also have 5 semi-regular beaders (bracelet makers?) in the family, who each have their own style. It is quite surprising how many combinations you can come up with without really thinking about it.

The bracelets are all made on embroidery floss, and tie on. Like a friendship bracelet, they are designed to be worn until they fray off on their own. This helps keep our costs and 'manufacturing' time down (and our customers coming back), so we can make the hundreds and hundreds required to keep the project going.

If you are interested in being involved by making a purchase or donating materials, please leave a comment or contact awlovespets@rogers.com for information. More information about Alzheimer's and dementia can be found at alzheimerlondon.ca.

Thanks for your interest.

White Oaks Fundraiser

After a whole year of fundraising with the Alzheimer's Society around London, Alysha has brought her bracelets back home to White Oaks School.

Starting February 1st, the staff have given permission for her to set up shop in front of the Junior Office.

Bracelets are selling for fifty cents each, and there are plans for raffles of other handmade jewellery in the next three weeks. If the total from the White Oaks students exceeds $250.00, there will be a chair plaque in the Alzheimer's Society's conference room with the message "White Oaks Public School Cares". 

The Vice-Principal was kind enough to pose with Alysha as the very busy month begins.

Alysha and Mrs. S Sartor of White Oaks P.S.

If you want to know the reasons behind Alysha's efforts you can read about it here. If you would like to contact us about ordering bracelets, or helping out in another way, please e-mail us at awlovespets@rogers.com