Candlelight Reflections Bring Us Together

Candlelight Reflections is a beautiful and moving experience. It can serve many roles – heightening public awareness of Alzheimer’s disease and caregiving issues, honoring and supporting family caregivers and individuals with dementia, and strengthening advocacy efforts.

Candlelight Reflections began as a way to bring together Alzheimer’s families, friends and supporters, and to increase awareness about dementia and its effects on families. Candlelight Reflections honors all families and friends taking on the role of caregiving and/or living with dementia. Candlelight Reflections is an especially fitting way to begin November, National and North Carolina Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month and Family Caregiver Month.

Candlelight Reflections can:

• • build awareness in the community about the valuable contributions and unique needs of family caregivers;
  • help educate the public about Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders, dementia care, and available support services;
  • elicit support for state and federal legislation to strengthen support for family caregivers;
  • encourage positive changes in the workplace to support caregiving families and individuals with dementia;
  • create opportunities for volunteer recruitment as well as “neighbor helping neighbor” efforts;
  • motivate people in the community to become more involved in local Alzheimer’s awareness activities and other ways to support family caregivers; and
  • provide an opportunity to share messages and educational resources with local media, faith communities, and other interested organizations.

 We challenge you to think broadly when planning a Candlelight Reflections event in your community. Families, individuals, corporations, small businesses, public officials, educators, human service agencies, faith communities, associations, health clubs, healthcare professionals, civic and social clubs, etc., are among the vast array of possibilities to include in your event.

People are encouraged to participate in Candlelight Reflections as a means of demonstrating respect, concern, and support for family caregivers and those affected by Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders.