The Longest Day, a fundraiser for the Alzheimer's Association, is a unique event in that you can make it whatever you want it to be. The only guideline is that you and your team should do something that you love to honor those with Alzheimer's disease for all 16 hours of sunlight on the longest day of the year. When my friend Kim and I first heard about The Longest Day in 2012, we immediately knew what activity we wanted to do: RUN! We both had been running and participating in road races for several years and the event seemed like a perfect opportunity to use our hobby to raise funds for an important cause. Also, we have both lost a grandparent to Alzheimer's disease, so we ran to honor their memories.
The first year that we participated in The Longest Day, we ran during the entire 16 hours as a two-person relay on a high school track. Kim ran for an hour and then I ran for an hour, all day long. By the time 9pm rolled around, we had run over 76 miles combined and raised $3,400.
Kim and I ready to run!
The Alziemer's Association caught wind of our running escapades and invited us to speak about The Longest Day at their Leadership Summit in Dallas the following February. The Longest Day was a very new event for the association at the time and we were happy to be able to help them spread the word about how impactful it is. It was such an honor to be able to tell our story to so many people - over 700 people attended our speech!
After experiencing the Leadership Summit, we decided to keep the momentum going for next year of The Longest Day. That year, Kim and I did another two person relay and ended up running 90 miles combined and raising over $6,000.
In 2014, we decided to expand the team to anyone who wanted to help us raise funds and awareness for Alzheimer's disease. The team that year raised almost $10,000 and logged 700 miles total on the track in one day!
The team thanking all their donors and supporters in 2014
We're not always running in circles though! In recent years we've done other activities on The Longest Day such as:
Running on the bike trails up to the capitol in Madison:
Hosting fundraising parties:
And handing out educational materials to raise awareness at a farmer's market:
Even though we have both lost grandparents to Alzheimer’s disease, Kim and I didn’t really realize the widespread impact until we begain participating in The Longest Day. So many people have come forward with heartbreaking personal stories of their own and it has made us appreciate that this event is more than just a fundraiser. It’s also a chance for those who have been impacted to come together, honor their loved ones, and know that they are not alone.
Hausmann Johnson Insurance was recognized on the list of '50 Best Workplaces for Giving Back' by Fortune. Rachel is one of the many examples of how associates dedicate their time and talents to amazing causes in the community.
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