July 02, 2021
Meadowcrest Apartments in Luverne recently hosted its fifth annual Rock-A-Thon fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association.
Site Manager Peggy Fowler said, “I started this because I wanted us to do something to reach out to others the way our community reaches out to us. What can we do as an elderly/disabled complex? That’s when the idea of rocking came to me. All my tenants can sit in a rocking chair and rock.”
Each year, Meadowcrest residents call, mail letters, and do activities to collect donations leading up to their rocking day of celebration. Fowler said, “It is an awesome day. We have about 30 rocking chairs under our gazebo, and we have the Pepsi wagon set up with free food, sodas, water, and, of course, we have door prizes. We also have T-shirts and caps made for each year so the funds from this goes toward our goal, also it lets everyone know about our fundraiser and our complex as people wear these. On this day we have live entertainment, and we always inform people about Alzheimer’s disease.”
The local event is usually held in conjunction with the Alzheimer’s Association’s The Longest Day fundraising event, which is held on the day with the most light – the summer solstice. This year Meadowcrest residents celebrated a little earlier, on June 12.
For the last three years, Meadowcrest has been recognized as the Alzheimer’s Assocation’s top fundraising team in Alabama. Their 2021 event raised $15,000.
Fowler said, “We are so excited! Each year, we try to top what we did for the previous year. This has begun such a thing for our community that people will see when we are having our event and then ask when they need to send their check. We also have people ride by the complex and see the signs. They share stories about family members with Alzheimer’s and ask how they may donate. It is really a sweet thing for so many to share their stories with us.”
Meadowcrest is a 32-unit elderly development located in Luverne. Meadowcrest received allocations of Housing Credits in 2013 and 1991 totaling more than $104,000 and was awarded $985,000 in Multifamily Bonds in 2013.
