By Taylor Boyd
The Patrick County Alzheimer’s Group, LLC, is holding its annual Love Lights project to help remember and honor loved ones during the holiday season.
Vice President Debbie Tatum said the Love Lights are handcrafted angel ornaments with the name of a loved one attached. They will be placed on the Christmas tree in the courtyard of the Patrick County Courthouse, which will be lit during the Grand Illumination at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5.
Love Lights are $5 each and may be dedicated “in honor of” or “in memory of” someone.
“It feels pretty special if somebody does that for you. We have people that send them from out of state, so it’s a feel-good kind of thing,” Tatum said.
While the group hopes to have all Love Lights in place before the Dec. 5 lighting, Tatum said dedications will be accepted through Dec. 20 and added to the tree as they come in.
“We try to have them up before the tree is first lit. It allows us to do something special for that person, and it makes money for Alzheimer’s,” she said. “We’ve been doing it for several years.”
The group also sends cards to the person honored or to the family of the person remembered.
“We try to put it in the paper of who was honored or in memory of because it gives an extra little boost to being able to be ‘in honor of’ or ‘in memory of,’” she said.
Tatum said around 100 Love Lights are typically sold each year. Proceeds help support local residents with Alzheimer’s or dementia.
“We buy diapers, wipes, pads, Ensure, and none of the volunteers are paid. Of course, we have to pay rent and the electric bill, but other than that, we spend it all on the people we take up money for,” she said.
The group also helps fund monitoring bracelets used by the Patrick County Sheriff’s Office for Project Lifesaver, a rapid-response program that locates people with cognitive impairments who wander from caregivers.
“Project Lifesaver has helped some people and saved some people, we think, because the Sheriff’s Office doesn’t have to go out with mass amounts of people. The average time of finding somebody is a little over 20 minutes. It’s a real blessing,” she said.
The group also provides donated medical equipment to anyone who needs it.
“We don’t care how long they keep it. If they return it, that’s great. If they don’t, that’s great, because people don’t have to use their insurance to buy equipment. There’s so much of that equipment out there, there’s no need to repurchase it,” she said.
In addition, the group buys and installs grab bars in homes to help increase mobility and prevent falls.
Registration forms for Love Lights are available in this newspaper and at the group’s office, located at 109 Buena Vista, Stuart. It is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
