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Help people with Alzheimer's
Topics: Alzheimer's disease, nonprofit, Volunteer, Volunteering, adult day care
Posted by citizenjournalist Mon Apr 2, 2007 12:43:56 PDT
Viewed 1372 times
0 responses 0 comments Location: 5500 Olive Drive, Bakersfield, CA 93308

I work for the Alzheimer's Disease Association of Kern County in Bakersfield. We are a nonprofit organization that specializes in taking care of the loved ones of working family members. We are here to relieve overwhelmed families having to deal with everyday life and taking on the responsibility of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's.

We are open from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. We are known as an "adult daycare center." Many of the families that bring their loved one to us are very grateful for the opportunity to do so. It is a way for them to continue to work or just live life without having to "place" the one they take care of.

Every morning we start off with coffee and breakfast, and we have a daily routine of exercising followed by word games. We do these activities to stimulate the brain and try to keep it young and motivated as long as possible.

After word games, we have numberous activities that we switch around weekly. We do arts and crafts, cooking classes, bingo (a huge favorite), bowling, baseball, basketball, etc. On Tuesdays we have "Beauty Day" for the ladies and they absolutely love it! But most of them look forward to Thusdays, "Movie and Popcorn Day!"

We also have many volunteers that come in to entertain the clients and keep them moving. Every third Wednesday of the month we have a birthday party for everyone who was born in that month. We eat, make cakes and dance all day. And boy, can these people still move like they're teenagers. They wear me out!

Lunch is usually ready right about noon, depending on when they're dropped off by our Meals on Wheels providers. We have a roster of about 50 clients, but we average 25 to 32 a day. Most of them leave at 2:30, thanks to the busing system we have set up to make it more convenient to the families.

By the time 3 p.m. rolls around, we have about seven clients left. We feed them a snack and set them in front of the TV because if they don't get their daily dose of Oprah and Dr. Phil, they're not happy campers!

My father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. But I am so fortunate to be able to take my dad to work with me every day. I love knowing that he is getting taken care of by people I trust and I don't have to place him in a facility.

Currently, we are located in a building at Olive Drive Church. We are hoping to move our daycare center into a building of our own someday, one with a fenced yard so that the clients can go in and out as they please. We do numerous fundraisers all over the county to raise money for this future move.

To donate to our nonprofit or to volunteer, call Arlana Absher at 393-8871. Our address is 5500 Olive Drive, Building One, Bakersfield, CA 93308. The main phone number is 393-8871.

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