Team RDO BrainiAKAs – Touched by Alzheimer’s, Living a Brain Healthy Lifestyle
Several of us women have banded together from the Rho Delta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. to form team RDO BrainiAKAs. We are a committed team of upwards of 30 excited to participate for the first time in The Longest Day. We learned of the event through our national body as Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. this year has formed a partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association with The Longest Day being a signature event.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority was founded in 1908 at Howard University, Washington, DC and is the first Greek letter organization established by Black college women. Since its inception, the purpose of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority has been to cultivate and encourage high scholastic and ethical standards, to study and help alleviate problems concerning girls and women, and to be of service to all mankind. Today, there are more than 180,000 members carrying out this vision operating through over 900 chapters around the globe. The Rho Delta Omega Graduate Chapter was chartered in January 1988 to service the Palo Alto/Peninsula area. Since 1988, our chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority has led various initiatives centered around health, economics, and the Black family and has awarded thousands of dollars in scholarships to help aspiring youth further their education, growth, and development.
Many of us on team RDO BrainiAKAs have been touched by Alzheimer’s and so the disease is near and dear to the team. One member lost her father to the disease. Another member is presently a caregiver to her father living with the disease. Another member’s stepfather was recently diagnosed with the disease.
Our team name depicts how we will spend our 16 hours on June 20, 2015 from 8am to midnight. We have a wide array of activities planned throughout the day all centered on the 6 pillars of a brain-healthy lifestyle and Alzheimer’s and dementia prevention.
For Regular Exercise, we will getting outdoors and doing a moderate hike at Rancho San Antonio Preserve. For Healthy Diet, we will eat brunch at an organic and locally grown restaurant and dinner at a Mediterranean restaurant as the Mediterranean diet is said to good given is rich in fish, nuts, whole grains, olive oil, and abundant fresh produce. For Mental Stimulation, we will be having a creativity party where we make glass fusion jewelry. For Stress Management, we will join for a restorative yin class focusing on breathing and meditation. For Active Social Life, we will be doing a screening of Still Alice followed by group discussion. For Quality Sleep, we have booked a large suite so members can get to bed and avoid braving a late night drive after midnight. To drive awareness and exceed our fundraising goal of $1908 (the year Alpha Kappa Alpha was founded), each of us will be blogging and posting across all social media platforms throughout the 16 hours. We have an event page https://www.facebook.com/events/441444252702282/ and team members have been advised to use hashtags #TheLongestDay #EndAlz #BrainiAKAs.
Our team t-shirts have arrived and we cannot wait to don them while we fully embrace all 16 hours of The Longest Day!
Helpful information related to this post:
