The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
When Grace Crofford, a resident of Flin Flon, first got a call from the Alzheimer Society of Manitoba to volunteer as a Door-to-Door canvasser last January, she immediately accepted. "I said certainly I would do that," says Crofford, who has been living in Flin Flon for the past two years. Crofford then set out to encourage as many people as possible to participate in the event. This was no small feat considering this was Flin Flon's first-ever Door-to-Door Campaign for the Alzheimer Society. "I started out by asking the clergy of each church, and then I started calling people that I knew," she says. "I also called people in healthcare and contacted the Home Care office. Then, I went to City Hall and got a map of Flin Flon and asked potential canvassers what area they would want." It was a lot of work, but Crofford knew it was for a very worthwhile cause. "Alzheimer Disease isn't something caused by abusing your body. It can happen to anyone in any walk of life at any time. I wanted to help out of compassion for the people affected by the disease," she says. Crofford and her team of 25 volunteers managed to canvass 80 per cent of Flin Flon, and raised over $3,000 to help support the programs and services of the Alzheimer Society of Manitoba. She credits the importance of the cause and the hard work of her dedicated canvassers for their success. Alzheimer Disease currently affects over 364,000 Canadians. In Manitoba, 15,000 people have been diagnosed with Alzheimer Disease or a related disorder. An increasing number of Canadians are expected to develop Alzheimer Disease and related dementias in the coming years. The Alzheimer Society of Manitoba's Door-to-Door event takes place during Alzheimer Awareness Month in January ? 1,000 canvassers are projected to raise $93,000 for the Alzheimer Society's programs and services next month.
