On Oct. 20, Ryle High School in Kentucky hosted the first “Cutting Out Alzheimer’s” scrapbooking crop. This event, sponsored by two of Ryle FBLA and National Honor Society (NHS), hosted over 160 scrapbookers. It lasted from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. with on-site shopping, silent auctions, and door prizes throughout. In addition, the participants each received free breakfast, lunch, dinner, T-shirts, and goodie bags. All proceeds went directly to the Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Cincinnati.

“Cutting Out Alzheimer’s” differs from many other charity events in that it was almost entirely student-ran. Behind the planning of the event was an organized system of student volunteers. Each was in charge of a group of committees such as customer service, food, media, and more; and each committee was headed by a committee chair. With such a division of labor, “Cutting Out Alzheimer’s” was able to remain what it was originally meant to be—a student event. But without the help and guidance of trusted FBLA advisers Sarah Meece and Ann Loftis and NHS adviser Barb Shoop, the event could not have been possible.

The inspiration behind “Cutting Out Alzheimer’s” came from the personal experience of almost everyone involved with the disease. In particular, Jacob Rouse, an executive board member, has been witnessing Alzheimer’s damaging effects in recent years as he watches his grandfather struggle with it. It was the idea of Jacob and his scrapbooking mother, Tina Rouse, to do something to help, the result being “Cutting Out Alzheimer’s”. Emilie Lyons, another planner of the event, was touched by the disease as her grandfather passed away from it. Ryle’s FBLA adviser, Sarah Meece, was also more than willing to help when she was informed of the project, as her mother-in-law recently passed away from Alzheimer’s. With the number of Alzheimer’s patients increasing every year, it is nearly impossible to find someone who has not been touched by it in one way or another.

With the idea in place, the only thing left to do was to make it happen. But without the help of corporate sponsors, the project never would have gotten off the ground. Corporate sponsors included National City, Key Bank, PNC Bank, Coldstone Creamery, Jet Coffee, Stephanie Sutter of KFB Insurance, Scott Berryman of State Farm, Second Glance Salon, The Learning Curve, Gary Greisser, 32 Ford, System 4, Bank of Kentucky, Jeoffries and King Orthodontics, and the Florence Wal-Mart. In addition, Wal-Mart went above and beyond, donating all paper products and soft drinks for the event.

In the end, “Cutting Out Alzheimer’s” was an undoubted success, raising over $14,000 to be donated to the Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Cincinnati. For participants and volunteers alike, it was truly a great day filled with creativity, hard work, and most importantly generosity.