(PRWEB) May 5, 2004

The northern Colorado office of the Alzheimer’s Association Rocky Mountain Chapter announces it will host an Artist’s Tea this Thursday, May 6th at the Fort Collins Country Club from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. The reception is to recognize and thank the artists, their families, and supporters of the Association’s “Memories in the Making” program.

The Association will host the sixth annual “Memories in the Making” art auction on Thursday, June 3rd at 6:30 p.m. The event will take place at the Dan Ostermiller Studio, located at 100 West First Street in Loveland. For information and tickets, call the Fort Collins Alzheimer’s Association office at 472-9798.

Memories in the Making is a unique program of creative expression for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia. The art they produce is a tangible means of expression, which speaks to their families, their professional caregivers and the public. While traditional art programs in nursing homes usually focuses on arts and crafts, Memories in the Making allows participants to express themselves creatively through painting.

Every year art created by program participants is chosen by a professional jury and displayed in an art show, then auctioned off as a fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association. Money raised through the sale of the art is used to fund programs and services for families, caregivers and those with Alzheimer’s disease.

More than 8,500 people in northern Colorado have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and more than 61,200 people in Colorado and over 4 million in the United States suffer from the disease. Memories in the Making is a year-round program that celebrates the lives of those who suffer with Alzheimer’s while enabling them to participate in painting, and raises funds for the Association by auctioning off selected artwork.

Funds are also raised through ticket sales and event sponsorships. The Association has many partners that provide framing, food, tents, limousines, publicity and graphic design as gifts in kind. All money raised at the auction remains in northern Colorado. The money is used for client programs and to provide services for families. The 2003 Memories in the Making fundraising goal for the Association is $ 60,000.

More information on the Alzheimer’s Association Rocky Mountain Chapter, including programs and services, as well as the Chapter’s special events and fundraisers, including Memories in the Making and the Memory Walk, volunteer opportunities, etc., is available at http://www.alzrockymtn.org.

The Alzheimer’s Association is the premier source of information and support for the four million Americans with Alzheimer’s disease. Through its national network of chapters, and with the generous support of its corporate sponsors, the Association is able to offer a broad range of programs and services for people with the disease, their families and caregivers. The largest private funder of Alzheimer’s research in the United States, the Association has committed $ 136 million toward research into the disease. For the past two years, Worth magazine name Alzheimer’s Association one of the nation’s “100 Best Charities.” More information is available at http://www.alz.org.

More about Memories in the Making

For Alzheimer’s patients, a world grown confusing, overwhelming, and maybe frightening has been comforted a little by a palette of watercolor paints and blank piece of paper. With the encouragement of a volunteer art facilitator, these artists slap, doodle, and glide their brushes on paper forming meaningful works of art. This art program has helped them reach a place beneath their dementia to extract some part of who they are. Participants in this program can feel a real sense of accomplishment and achievement in a world of continual memory loss.

“We’re trying to create an emotionally safe environment where those with Alzheimer’s can express themselves with art rather than with words, which can be a frustrating experience,” says Gwen Ippen, Memories in the Making director. “This program does not teach new skills, rather it is designed to be fun and facilitate communication through art.” Alzheimer’s patients are often able to paint memories or emotions that they are no longer able to talk about.

Families and caregivers can learn more about the individual with Alzheimer’s through their artwork. For example, one artist painted a birdhouse sharing his lifelong love of building and hanging birdhouses in the yard, another paints a fish remembering the hours spent nurturing his tanks of tropical fish, while another shares her love of her children with a painting and long explanations of each child.

What began in Colorado in 1994 as a pilot program at five sites has grown to over 60 assisted-living, nursing homes, and community centers throughout the state.

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