Kansas City ‘Longest Day’ painting raises money for Alzheimer’s research – Alzheimer’s Longest Day – residents paint tree of life for awareness and fundraising
by: Heidi Schmidt, Kerri Stowell – Posted: Jun 21, 2023 / 02:21 PM CDT
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A group of people come together on the longest day of the year to fight the darkness of Alzheimer’s disease.
People living, working, and visiting the Senior Star retirement center in south Kansas City spent the day adding personal touches to a painting.
The painting is called “The Living Tree.” It is based on an actual tree that is on the property that is believed to be more than 200 years old.
The activity is part of The Longest Day campaign for the Alzheimer’s Association. The idea is to use the day with the longest amount of daylight to raise money and awareness about the most common form of dementia, according to the association.
Employees said the issue resonates with the people living there. They wanted to do what they could to raise awareness about the ongoing need for funding and research.
“Everything we do at Senior Star, everything we do at Villa is to touch a resident in some way. If it doesn’t touch a resident, if it doesn’t work for a resident, it doesn’t work for Senior Star,” Nathan Wood, executive director, said. “It’s very important that we have a relationship with our residents and that it’s meaningful. That’s what we do at Villa.”
The painting will end at 7 p.m. Wednesday evening. It will remain on display until it is sold during a silent auction planned later this year.
All of the money raised from the sale of the painting will be donated to the Alzheimer’s Association via Villa’s Walk To End Alzheimer’s fundraising.
Learn more about The Longest Day online through the Alzheimer’s Association.