Quinnipiac University’s new Andy’s Alzheimer’s Awareness Club started after a friendship of five first year girls blossomed into an opportunity for change.
Andy’s Alzheimer’s Awareness Club began over the summer with first-year health science studies major and president of the organization, Kirsten Cairns. Cairns was inspired to form the club, after her father’s recent diagnosis with Alzheimer’s disease.
“I noticed that when I would tell people, they’d be like, ‘Oh yeah, I know the disease,’ but they didn’t really know all that it entailed,” Cairns said. “I really just wanted to make a safe club for people that may not know or want to cope with, like the feeling of a new like diagnosis with a family member.”
After attending the Engagement Fair held in August, Cairns knew for sure she wanted to leave her mark on the school.
“I knew that I wanted to start a club at Quinnipiac… I really just wanted to like, make friends and make (a) safe place for people to talk about Alzheimer’s and educate others,” Cairns said. “It really started when I came here and I went to the Engagement Fair, and I saw all these clubs, and I was like, ‘wow, I really, really want to do this now.’”
Cairns, along with the four other members of the club’s e-board (Evangeline Vertucci, nursing major and treasurer, Emily Lachance, undeclared business major and social media manager, Victoria Trypaluk, Health science studies major and vice president, and Emily Daoust, biology 3+1 major and secretary) met on the first day of classes in their residence hall during an impromptu dorm tour, and have been close friends ever since.
“We were walking in, (and) said, like, ‘oh, dorm tour!’ But no one was answering the door, so we told them to come to our room, and from then on, it was history. We just became friends,” Trypaluk, a health science studies major and vice president of the organization, said.
The organization held its kickoff meeting on Nov. 6. They presented a slide show detailing facts, statistics and other information about Alzheimer’s disease while also allowing attendees time to play games and get to know one another. While the turnout was low, spirits remain high as the girls are currently in the process of planning future events.
With many goals in mind as it makes its debut on campus, one of Andy’s Alzheimer’s Awareness Club’s biggest objectives is to raise money for Alzheimer’s research funding. Such funding can be put towards understanding causes and prevention of the disease, as well as treatment for patients with Alzheimer’s, like Cairns’ father.
The girls proposed the idea of visiting local retirement homes in the surrounding community and spreading kindness to patients suffering from Alzheimer’s with handmade crafts or gifts. They also suggested doing the same to students on campus who may have a family member dealing with the disease as a way of helping them cope.
As far as the future goes, the club hopes to soon acquire funding from the school to put their objectives into action and begin making a difference on campus.
“We definitely want to fundraise,” Cairns explained. “We want to make it popular because it is a really good club to fundraise for… so we can make these crafts and gifts for the retirement homes and families… with loved ones with Alzheimer’s. We want to, you know, really, just get our club out there.. because it is a really good club to fundraise for.”
For anyone interested in joining Andy’s Alzheimer’s Awareness Club, meetings will be held at 9 p.m. on Wednesdays. Location is yet to be decided. With any questions regarding joining, reach out to their Instagram, @alzheimersawareness.qu.
