FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Robyn Truslow
410-535-0291
Alzheimer’s disease impacts many lives in Calvert County. Calvert Library, Office on Aging, Calvert County Commission on Aging and the Alzheimer’s Association have teamed up with two very special volunteers who will be providing an evening Alzheimer’s Caregiver support group at Calvert Library Prince Frederick on the second Thursday of each month beginning February 11, at 7:00pm.
When asked why this group was being started, Calvert Library Public Relations Coordinator Robyn Truslow responded, “We co-hosted a showing of the film based on Still Alice by Lisa Genova about a woman with Alzheimer’s disease. The attendance was incredible and the audience expressed a need for more education and more support. Nancy Lehman of the Calvert County Commission on Aging and Susan Justice with the Office on Aging agreed that an evening support group for caregivers was needed in the community so we got to work making it happen.”
The hardest part was recruiting volunteer facilitators. Fortunately, Nancy Lehman worked with the Alzheimer’s Association and Asbury Solomons to arrange a training for several members of the community including ministers and community leaders that have a vested interest in support care. The Calvert Library support group now has two committed facilitators who have gone through the approval and training process required by the Alzheimer’s Association.
Jeannette Findley grew up on a dairy farm in northern Indiana and is now a retired elementary school librarian and retired pastor of congregational care. She has been married for 49 years and is a mother and grandmother. She serves on the Calvert County Commission on Aging and is a resident of Asbury Solomons Retimement Community. She will take the lead with the Thursday evening group.
Christine Stelloh-Garner joins the Alzheimer’s Association as a support group facilitator after caring for her parents, both of whom died as a result of the disease. This role continues her passion to help others understand Alzheimer’s disease and how they might best live with its impact. In her first career, Chris was a civilian program manager with the Department of the Navy before retiring as a senior executive after nearly 30 years of supporting naval aviation. She also has served as the executive director of the Calvert County Historical Society, enjoys genealogy and classical guitar, and is an active member of Olivet United Methodist Church.
Calvert County is full of giving people who want to make a difference in the community. A way you can help is to reach out to someone you know who is providing care for a person with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia. Tell them about this Thursday support group and offer to sit with their loved one for two hours while they attend. For more information and to register, call Calvert Library at 410-535-0291.
###
Robyn Truslow
Public Relations Coordinator
Calvert Library
850 Costley Way
Prince Frederick, MD 20678
410-535-0291
410-535-3022 (fax)
Calvert Library…Your Source for Awesome!
