A local woman and her family have organized an upcoming designer purse bingo to benefit the 2021 Tri-County Walk to End Alzheimer’s.
The Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s is a community-driven effort to support the fight to end Alzheimer’s and other dementia-related diseases. The walk is held annually in more than 600 communities across the nation.
The Tri-County Walk to End Alzheimer’s draws participation from Marion, Monongalia and Preston counties. This year, it will be held in-person Oct. 17 at Mylan Park.
Organizer Debbie Spiker said she and her family have participated in the Tri-County Walk to End Alzheimer’s for the last 10 years as the team May’s Flowers, named after Spiker’s mother.
Her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2006 and passed away from the disease in 2014. Spiker has been a member of the Tri-County Walk to End Alzheimer’s committee for the past decade and has held many titles, including chair, walk chair and logistics chair.
Spiker’s mother-in-law was also diagnosed with the disease in 2019, which has encouraged the family to continue to emphasize the importance of fundraising to support research and all of the supportive measures that the Alzheimer’s Association offers.
This will be the first year the family has hosted a designer purse bingo, but the Spikers have attended similar events in the past and was inspired to organize one of their own.
“We’ve been working on it for probably a month and a half. We really dug our heels in and got started [that long] ago,” Spiker said.
The money raised from the designer purse bingo will go toward further fundraising events by the May’s Flowers team, all of the proceeds from which will benefit the 2021 Tri-County Walk to End Alzheimer’s.
The family is able to sell a maximum of 200 tickets based on space available at their chosen venue, and their desire to observe social distancing guidelines. The family has been pre-selling tickets and have currently sold 100, or half, of the available tickets.
Spiker hopes that by speaking with local media, tickets will sell out completely.
“Right now we’re about 50% of the way there. I’m hoping that we get additional interest next week, and then we’ll have tickets available at the door as well,” she said.
She said there are a couple of different purposes behind the event.
The first is that the COVID-19 pandemic has forced people to become socially isolated. Now that some of the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, Spiker hopes the event will provide an opportunity for people to socialize with family and friends.
The second is to spread awareness about Alzheimer’s disease and education regarding the Alzheimer’s Association and its relationships with organizations like the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, as well as the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, and how they can get involved and participate.
The Spiker family’s designer purse bingo will be held at noon June 6 at Morgantown Elks, at 1138 Chestnut Ridge Road. Tickets to the event are $20 if purchased beforehand or $25 at the door.
There will be 20 purses featured from designers such as Kate Spade, Coach, Michael Kors and Dooney and Bourke. There will also be raffle baskets and a 50/50 raffle as well as a bonus number opportunity. Additionally, an early-bird registration purse and a second chance purse will be offered.
For more information on the Tri-County Walk to End Alzheimer’s, visit the event’s Facebook page.
Details on how to purchase a ticket to the designer purse bingo can also be found on the Tri-County Walk to End Alzheimer’s Facebook page, or interested parties can contact Debbie Spiker at 304-288-3729.
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