Raising awareness for Alzheimer’s disease

By Miriam Ostermann, Associate Editor

Following the diagnosis of a family member with Alzheimer’s disease, a Strathmore resident is raising awareness with her charity organization Forget Me Not.
Twenty-one-year-old Kyra Keer started the organization after the disease hit close to home just over a year ago. Instead of joining an existing club focused on Alzheimer’s disease at her university campus in Ontario, Keer decided to marry her artistic skills with her desire to raise money and awareness for the Canadian Alzheimer Society by creating apparel and accessories.
“I just wanted to see what I could do and I have always been involved with art and I’ve always been involved with charity and I wanted to find a way to combine those two in a way that was meaningful in my life but also for a vast number of Canadians,” said Keer, founder of Forget Me Not Awareness.
“Alzheimer’s and dementia is so prevalent but it’s not common to talk about it and have conversations about it. There’s an ever-growing number of people who are being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease due to the aging population and so it’s better to normalize it. I want to encourage people to have that conversation rather than ostracize people who suffer from these diseases.”
Keer, a Strathmore High School alumna, launched her initiative online Oct. 19 and has already received numerous positive responses from people sharing their experiences and stories. She hopes to provide a global platform in the future where those stories can be shared.
Thousands of people currently live with the disease in southern Alberta. The Alzheimer Society of Calgary, a non-profit organization, ensures thousands of people impacted by Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias have access to high-quality education, support and care. The organization services an area as far west as the B.C. border, stretching east to Strathmore, north to Didsbury and south to Carmangay.
“AHS (Alberta Health Services) released a new report this year … we were using previous numbers from 2013 and now it’s up from 13,000 to 17,000 and it’s expected to double in the next 15 years; at least double,” said Ryan Gallant, coordinator of communications and engagement with Alzheimer Society of Calgary.
“Age is the biggest factor. So our aging population still maintaining cognitive health and continuing to be engaged is the only real thing that anyone can do in hopes to prevent it at this point. But there is no real cause or cure that we know of right now.”
Through Forget Me Not, Keer has designed a logo that contains the handwriting of her affected family members, and offers merchandise in the form of T-shirts, sweaters, hats, mugs and cellphone cases, with all profits donated to the Canadian Alzheimer Society; Keer designed her items to spark a conversation and for people to ask questions about the design.
Keer, who is working on her undergrad in medical sciences, said she still has a lot of work to do in building her organization and garnering attention, and she hopes to involve the community of Strathmore in the future.
“The thing about the human brain is that we know so much but what we know is only scratching the surface, and there is always money and there is always time being needed,” she added. “Strathmore is such a cohesive community and I feel that when anybody has some sort of a cause you can really see the community rise up to support them. So in my case, I’d love to have different people in the community helping and volunteering with me in different ways.”
For further information and to purchase items visit forgetmenotawareness.myshopify.com.