Teens Rally To Raise Almost $2,000 for Hands-On Alzheimer's & Dementia Programs
Featured by Newsday
The Dodds family felt helpless at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak., They knew they wouldn’t be able to connect with their family for the foreseeable future, including their beloved grandmother, Liz, who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and lives in an assisted living facility.
Sophie, 14, and Liam, 17, decided to turn stay-at-home orders into an opportunity to honor their grandmother, who used to sew everything for her grandchildren, from Halloween costumes to baby quilts, and taught her craft to anyone who wanted to learn. “It’s super important to keep yourself safe from spreading [the coronavirus] or getting it spread to you, and keeping everyone around you safe so we can go back to normal living,” said Sophie. “We realized when this all started that people were going to need face mask," continued Liam, "so we began making masks."
Word about their face mask fundraiser spread quickly; before they knew it, they had made over 300 masks and raised over $1,500! All proceeds are donated to the LIAD Center in support of hands-on dementia programs. “Most of our family lives on Long Island, so we just wanted to do something to help them stay safe. We felt it was also important to support local nonprofits…and to put donations towards organizations which our grandma supported,” said the Dodds.
The family is on vacation in Utah, but they took along their sewing machine and materials with them so they can continue their mission. Click below to read more about the Dodds' face mask fundraiser. To support their fundraiser visit, their Etsy shop, SewHealthyDesigns.