Senior living facility hosts St. Patrick Day fundraiser for Alzheimer’s disease

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (WLOX) - The Gardens Senior Community in Ocean Springs celebrated St. Patrick Day by giving back to the community. Visitors were able to pick up green tea while also donating to the Alzheimer’s Association.

On Wednesday, the community center held a fundraiser while also giving out green tea. Organizers said the center raised over $2,000 for the organization last year and now they wanted to beat that goal.

The Gardens Senior Community allowed visitors to enter the raffle for the chance to win two spa baskets. TrueWings food truck was also at the event to feed visitors while giving a part of the proceeds to the Alzheimer’s Association as well.

Business office director Stacey Maxted said she constantly sees how much the disease can affect patients’ life.

“I’ve been business office director here for three years and I’ve seen it firsthand, and it’s just really tough. It’s quite a passion of ours to end it. We encourage everyone to come out because Alzheimer’s is such a horrific disease for patients and family members. We want to end it,” said Maxted.

Raising money for Alzheimer’s is a priority for the living center, which is why workers raised money to find cure for the disease often.

“Every quarter, we do a different type of fundraiser,” said Maxted. “We’ve done bagged lunches and we’ve done bagged breakfast. We’re always finding different and unique ways to give back to the community and also raise money for Alzheimer’s. COVID has definitely changed the way we do things, so Valerie, the marketing person came up with doing the drive by. It’s awesome because you don’t even have to get out of your car and you can just swing by, give a donation, and we’ll give something in return.”

Maxted explained that the Gardens Senior Community is heavily involved in the community by volunteering. She said that the center prides on volunteering because you never know who may need an extra hand.

“We always love giving back to the community. It’s something that’s very important to us,” said Maxted. “The community supports us, so we want to give back. Whether it’s stuffing coolers for hurricane relief or visiting doctors’ offices with goodies and treats, it’s our way of saying thank you for everything that you do for us.”

Maxted said that the living center will have a green tea giveaway for St. Patrick’s Day in the future.