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Life in the Years is a joint initiative of Musicians for a Cause and the Moore Center |
The song I contributed to Life in the Years was inspired by my grandmother, Ave, who has been living with Alzheimer's for over a decade. My family and I recently visited her at her nursing home to celebrate her 84th birthday and it was full of bittersweet moments. Ave was always an avid collector of things like porcelain dolls, pottery and unique artwork. After eighty-four years of leading a beautiful life, it's hard to accept that the one thing she can't collect is her memories. Liz Longley - Life in the Years Contributing Artist Berklee College of Music |
"Be the change you want to see in the world" ~ Mahatma Ghandi |
Why I Care About Fighting Alzheimers |
"It's difficult for our family to watch our grandmother search for her words and struggle to remember her loved ones as Alzheimer's disease captures her thoughts. We get through as a family by embracing her good days and by sticking together. We look forward to the medical advances that will undoubtedly develop in the future." Nick and Sam Philip Denison University/Bucknell University |
"My family has approached Alzheimer's with a never-ending supply of love, humor, and patience. I have found within my family, and within my work as a music therapist that creating or singing music together can be safe and a healing activity. I have watched over and over as elderly with Dementia or Alzheimer's easily remember the melodies and words to songs that were popular in their youth. Music brings a connection that few other things can." Sarah Sample - Life in the Years Contributing Artist Utah State University |
"Cherish the small, precious moments. It's difficult to see my Grandmother so vacant in some moments and completely together and aware in others. My Mom worries that she has already lost her mother even though she is still alive. All of the joy and happiness with her are made more special with her lucid moments. She is still the Grandmother we all love and care for, but we have all accepted her disease as something that will not get better. It creates stress and challenging times for the family, but it also brings us closer together as we all unite to cherish the small moments." Emaline Pryor Denison, University |
Here are stories from other students who are supporting Life in the Years - On Campus: |
You can share your story on our facebook page or send us a note and we may add it here. |
"I hate seeing my grandmother losing her memory and I want to do anything I can to prevent others I love from developing dementia. Having watched her Alzheimer's progress it has become increasingly difficult for my family to remember her better days. We're thankful for her in-home nurse who cares for her as her memory fails and she is unable to remember or recognize her own children or how to sign her name. My grandmother is my inspiration for fighting Alzheimer's Disease. She is the reason I want to be a part of Life in the Years." Maddie Haller Boston College |
Life in the Years - On Campus |
"As my grandfather's dementia worsened, the toll it took on our family got increasingly more difficult to handle. The most challenging part of the diagnosis is that there is hardly anything that can be done to interrupt dementia's path. Having seen the care-taking efforts and feeling the emotions attached with dementia, I have since become interested in what I can do to help. I had no idea helping would be as easy as participating in Life in the Years - On Campus!" Jamie Sullivan University of New Hampshire |
Today's youth - that's us - will make tomorrow's decisions about the world we live in. As tomorrow's policy-makers, business owners, engineers, scientists, caregivers, etc. we'll be the ones to tackle the issues our society faces, so it's important we develop awareness and take action now. Our generation has the opportunity to not only change the world our children live in - we can also change the world we live in! Stay tuned! We'll be adding several online training modules on elderly awareness and caring for elderly, and we'll also be offering experiential learning opportunities through partnerships with community service organizations. |
"Life in the Years - On Campus is a wonderful initiative. I love the idea of listening to music to help raise awareness to fight Alzheimer's! Life in the Years is something everyone can appreciate!" Erin Griffin St. Anselm College |
I was exposed to Alzheimer's disease before I could understand what it meant. My great-grandmother was always one for telling stories, but as I grew her memories slowed, her stories were few and far between, and she became very distant. She no longer recognized my parents - or me - and I was no longer able to visit with her. I was only a child, and fortunately I remember more of the good than the bad. It wasn't until years later that I began to worry about my own brain health. Studies have shown that head injuries can increase your risk of developing Alzheimer's. It increases with the frequency and severity, and as a student athlete I've sustained multiple concussions and taken up an interest in neuro-health and psychology. I've spent a lot of time thinking about my health and the brain damage that occurred with each knock on the head. Fortunately, as a young, healthy, and educated student-athlete my brain is able to recover. Alzheimer's frightens me though. The idea of losing memories is something we rarely think or talk about and I want to change that. I'm asking students across the country to please help me Fight Alzheimer's With Music. With the rate this disease is likely to occur in my generation I hope that by encouraging conversation among students our generation can make lee-way and take steps towards saving our memories forever. My involvement in Life in the Years has greatly increased my interest in creating awareness, educating myself, and raising funds to fight Alzheimer's disease. Through my conversations about Alzheimer's I've found many friends and family who have been touched by dementia and it has created a linked interest between us and fired up the desire to make a difference now! Kate Sullivan - Life in the Years On Campus Ambassador Denison University This is my story- what is yours? What inspires you to start a conversation about Alzheimer's? Send us a note if you'd like to add your story here or you can add it to our facebook page. I can't think of a better way to create awareness and compassion than through music. The Life in the Years artists have all shared touching stories and every generation will find messages that touch their hearts. Please listen and share to help support Life in the Years - On Campus! |
"I Care About the Elderly!" |
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