Working to raise awareness and important funds to help in the fight against Alzheimer’s was the goal of residents and staff at Sonoma House Assisted Living & Alzheimer’s Care in Carrollton as they recently hosted “Monte Carlo Night,” a casino-themed fundraiser event. Every 67 seconds someone in the United States is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. The staff and senior residents of Sonoma House believe that it is more important than ever to help raise awareness about this most common form of dementia and support the research that could help find a cure, methods of treatment and ways to prevent it altogether. The recent event at Sonoma House raised more than $3,500. The residents, their family members and other guests in attendance enjoyed cool jazz, delicious cocktails and hors d’oeuvres along with a silent auction that featured beautiful pieces of art created by the senior residents themselves with the help of a local youth group from Bethel Bible Fellowship Church. Mozelle Rawson Brown, a well-known artist in the Dallas area who came to be known for her incredible oil paintings and is now a resident living with Alzheimer’s at Sonoma House, also donated some of her award-winning artwork to the auction. She has donated to many different causes and events throughout her life, but this event, as a resident, is especially meaningful to her. She hopes her art can provide others with the same joy it did for her as she created it.
"My work is a personal statement. Images that are stored in my mind become abstracted fragments fitting together like pieces of a puzzle. The images come together shape by shape as the paint goes on the canvas. Each painting becomes a new and exciting page in my book of lyrical expressions, something new and exciting I am about to experience,” said Brown in a personal journal entry. “I hope the viewer will share this excitement and experience the work in his or her own way."
Featured in exhibitions across the metroplex at the University of Texas Arlington, the Hasgow Gallery in Dallas and the Grand Prairie Women’s Club to name a few, Brown’s work is not only well-known, but valuable. The works donated for this event were estimated to be worth nearly $4,000.
More than 340,000 people in Texas currently are living with Alzheimer’s, and scientists say that everyone with a brain is at risk for being diagnosed with it. As an important piece of the “Remember Me” theme that encompasses World Alzheimer’s Month, the staff at Sonoma House hopes that Monte Carlo Night inspired more people to get involved in efforts to prevent Alzheimer’s. In addition, they hope to bring more awareness to prevention and treatment programs that are so vital to the well-being of those affected by this disease.
“Our goal is to provide purpose-filled interactions for our residents, their families, and the community overall,” said James A. Stroud, President of Sonoma House. “The residents had a fantastic time making the artwork with the children in preparation for this fundraiser, and it was wonderful for everyone to see that they can make a difference in the lives of others in the community.”
The dedication to defeating Alzheimer’s is yielding creativity and generosity in every corner of the community. Refusing to stop at one event, the staff and resident family members at Sonoma House will be participating in an Alzheimer’s Walk on September 26th. Each person who signs up will get a Sonoma Star t-shirt and will work to raise money on behalf of the walk.