With a flip of a switch, lights across Leesburg turned purple on June 1 in support of Alzheimer’s Awareness Month.
The Purple for a Purpose Kickoff event, hosted by The Rotary Club of Leesburg and the City of Leesburg at Towne Square Park, started the community’s monthlong effort to support those affected by Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.
More than 580,000 people age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s and over 870,000 unpaid family caregivers provide support to diagnosed loved ones in Florida, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Leesburg Mayor Allyson Berry and Melissa Denham, both chairs of The Rotary Club of Leesburg fundraiser committee, led the fundraising initiative for Alzheimer’s Awareness Month. Berry organized the kickoff event and Denham is organizing a 5K run/walk and community event at the end of the month. Proceeds will benefit local memory care and respite services.
Berry coordinated the kickoff as a way to bring the community together for a meaningful cause and honor The Rotary Club of Leesburg, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary in June.
“When I learned that The Rotary Club of Leesburg would be celebrating its centennial anniversary, I started thinking about how we can make this milestone something bigger than just a celebration, and how we could bring everyone together,” Berry said. “I felt it was the perfect opportunity to unite the city around a cause that touches so many families.
“As a caregiver, I’ve seen just how delicate and important the memory truly is,” she said. “Our memories hold our stories, our loved ones and the moments that shape who we are. That’s why Alzheimer’s Awareness Month felt like the right choice for this community and initiative.”
Overlooking a crowd of people dressed in purple, waving purple glow sticks and inflatable thunderstick noisemakers, Berry said she was happy to see the community come together for what she hopes becomes an annual event.
George Waters, president of The Rotary Club of Leesburg, said the initiative is another way for the nonprofit to focus on putting service above self.
“I live in a 55-and-up community, so I’ve seen Alzheimer’s disease affect on a lot of people,” Waters said. “This is such a worthy cause to call attention to and give support to those who are affected by this. We are proud to be sponsors of the Purple for a Purpose event and we want all of Leesburg to light up purple.”
During the kickoff event, members of The Rotary Club of Leesburg sold yard signs, T-shirts, purple light bulbs and gel filters. Items are still available for purchase until the end of the month at the Leesburg Chamber Office, 600 Market St., Leesburg and the American Safety Utility Corporation, 3601 W. Main St., Leesburg.
“It has been an honor to work with Allyson on this project and to be associated with The Rotary Club of Leesburg,” said Al Minner, Leesburg’s city manager, while inviting the crowd to get ready to turn the town purple after at least a month of preparation.
The city incorporated purple lights around the trees and water fountain in Towne Square Park. Lights at parks, streets and facilities around the city also were changed to purple, including Main Street, the Pat Thomas Stadium and Ski Beach in the Venetian Gardens.
Businesses across the city answered the call to join The Rotary Club of Leesburg’s initiative to visually turn their businesses purple, including Artist with a Purpose art gallery, the Lake Square Mall, the Leesburg International Airport, Empire Management Group Inc., Trinity Springs Assisted Living and Kitchen Tune-Up The Villages and Chain of Lakes.
Tracy McDaniel, of the Village of Fenney, presented a call to action to attendees, inviting them to support Alzheimer’s Awareness Month by educating themselves, showing grace, joining an Alzheimer’s clinical research study and reaching out to caregivers or volunteering with a dementia-focused respite group.
“I’m not new to the role of being a caregiver,” McDaniel said. “My father had Alzheimer’s and he passed away in 2018, so this is definitely not new to me. My mom was diagnosed in 2022, and I’d never imagine I’d go through this a second time. Through it all, we are doing our best to live life to the fullest every single day.”
During the event, attendees wrote messages on a wooden board and danced to music played by Leesburg Commissioner Robert Alderman, who DJ’d for the event.
Brian Sharpe, owner of Kitchen Tune-Up The Villages and Chain of Lakes, and Teresa Hammock, marketing staff with Trinity Springs Assisted Living, danced with McDaniel’s mom, Patti McCroy.
Max and Vonda Parker, of Leesburg, wrote a message on the wooden board in honor of Max’s mother, who was diagnosed with dementia. The couple cared for her before she died.
“You can help someone else by sharing your story,” Max said. “Once you talk about the things that are bothering you, it could help you feel better.”
Denham wants people to know that a diagnosis doesn’t define you.
Impacted by her experience of watching her grandmother take care of her great-grandfather who had dementia, Denham founded The Dementia Grove a year ago to provide support to families living with the disease.
Along with offering one-on-one support sessions, The Dementia Grove provides home safety checks and family support meetings to provide recommendations to improve safety in everyday life.
“Anything and everything that we can do to spread awareness and make sure that people don’t feel alone is what the community should be doing,” she said. “So many people have been diagnosed with a form of dementia and then they don’t know what to do. Having someone to walk with them on that journey is important and I’m honored to be one of those people.”
Denham is the lead coordinator for the 5K run/walk scheduled for 8 a.m. to 1 p.m June 27 in Downtown Leesburg. Following the 8 a.m. walk, there will be vendors, food trucks, local resources and more.
In the meantime, Berry invited the community to support the fundraiser initiative by wearing purple, purchasing light bulbs to shine at their homes or businesses and sharing information about the initiative with their neighbors.
“We want to let everyone know just how serious we are when we say, ‘We are one Leesburg,’” Berry said.
For more information about the Purple for a Purpose initiative, visit officeservices.us/purple/ or email turnleesburgpurple@gmail.com.
Staff writer Brea Jones can be reached at 352-753-1119, ext. 5414, or brea.jones@thevillagesmedia.com.
