Over seven million Americans are grappling with the effects of one debilitating disease, Alzheimer’s. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, Missouri alone has over 120 thousand cases. However, one organization is doing what it can to raise money and help those who are afflicted, and it is located close to home.
The Henry County Memory Fund was established in 2014 in hopes of providing assistance to patients, caregivers, and families of patients with Alzheimer’s and Dementia. It may be from a small rural area of Missouri, but many people working there are passionate about making a change in patients’ lives. One of these people is Bretta Plumlee. Every year, she organizes the Dine & Donate event. Local small businesses choose a day in June and pledge a portion of their earnings to the Memory Fund.
“The restaurants listed on the poster will give the Henry County Memory Fund ten percent of their total sales that day. So it goes directly into the fund to help people with Alzheimer’s and Dementia” Plumlee said.
All of the funds stay local to help those in the community they raised the money from. These funds help patients in many ways, including paying for items such as prescriptions, durable medical equipment, and respite stays. However, the money often helps with the financial burden of everyday life.
“Say they have an electric or water bill or something, and their finances are tight, we sometimes help them with that” Plumlee said.
Many different restaurants are participating, including Donna’s Drive In on the 7th, Ben Franklin Bistro on the 11th, Mallard’s Road House on the 17th, Frank’s Fish Shack on the 21st, and Dietz Family Buffet on the 25th. Ben Franklin Bistro has been a part of this event for the last several years, and the owner, Nikita Branscombe, says they usually raise a couple of hundred dollars on their day.
“As a small business owner and being a part of the community, it’s a good way to support everybody. We all enjoy doing it, and it is our way of giving back” Branscombe said.
Branscombe and her restaurant participate in the fundraising because it is good to give back to the community in which she lives. But, Plumlee has a different reason for why she volunteers.
“What got me started was seeing the disease first hand with this lady, a stranger that I had never met before” Plumlee said.
One day, Plumlee was out with her husband at a JCPenney, casually shopping. She decided to go to the restroom but heard some distressed noises from inside. An elderly woman was confused and attempting to leave the bathroom through the mirror.
“She thought the person she was seeing in the mirror was someone trying to help her. She was just saying ‘Help me get out! Help me get out!’” Plumlee said.
Plumlee tried to help the woman as she left, but the woman was very distraught. Outside the bathroom was the elderly woman’s husband, whom Plumlee told about the situation.
“He told me she was battling Alzheimer’s and he didn’t know how much longer he would be able to take care of her. I just started crying. I went back to my husband, and I just started crying. I was just thinking, ‘What an awful, awful disease’” Plumlee said.
After seeing the disease firsthand, she was overcome by emotion and knew she needed to do something. From that day on, she has dedicated herself to helping people with Alzheimer’s in any way she can.
“I mean, you have a person you have been with for years, and they don’t know you. So in my heart, I knew I needed to volunteer” Plumlee said.
Once she started looking for ways to apply this newfound passion, she stumbled upon the Memory Foundation and never looked back. She dedicates hours and hours of her time to help organize events and spread awareness. When she hears stories of progress, it makes it all worth it.
“I read stuff pretty often about them getting closer and closer to finding drugs that can help people. When you read stories like that, it always makes you think we are doing some good out there” Plumlee said.
To benefit from the work they are doing, children can submit an application for their parents if they have Alzheimer’s. The hard work and money from everyone in the organization is here to help them in whatever way they need.
