Drews Crew Benefit

September 9th 2017 marked the 3rd year of the Drew’s Crew Colorfest. It was a beautiful day for the benefit and we are grateful for the hundreds of people who turned out to support my battle with Chronic Myelogeneous Leukemia.

There were so many people who volunteered and donated to make this event a success. We are particularly thankful for our Color Station Sponsors. Anytime Fitness, M.R. Paving & Excavating, Dittrich Specialties, The Lions Club of New Ulm and Peace Lutheran Church of Nevis, MN.

Thank you to the volunteers who shared the day with us to help make the day run smoothly. Your willingness, passion and experience are invaluable to the cause. You made sure the race went smoothly, the food was served, and the auction was a success. Special thanks to the committees for their dedication and hard work to make it all possible. Thank you to Darrel Brey for being the Emcee/ DJ for the day and to John Dietz as the auctioneer. We appreciate you sharing your talents for the day.

Thank you to Tom Furth and the Hermannfest committee for sharing the site and facilities.

A huge thank you to all who came out to participate in the event! Without your generosity and willingness to help, this would not have been successful. The Drew’s Crew event raised enough money to help me with medication and special test costs through the year. It is a blessing to not worry about this every month. Your support, thoughts and prayers mean so much to us.

Drew & Val Aufderheide

United Way says Thanks

Thank you to the many small businesses who contributed to the United Way of Brown County during our annual Small Business Blitz. We had 40 volunteers visit 425 small businesses during a 2-hour time frame in New Ulm, Sleepy Eye, Springfield and Comfrey. Any business who contributed at least $40 was eligible for a drawing to win a KNUJ radio package. Congratulatlons to Creative Hair Company in New Ulm for being this year’s winner.

National Family

Caregivers Month

I’d like to give a very thankful shout out to everyone that helped with this year’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s, especially those who helped make our team, Team Gibbon, the success that it was.

With the help of the community, our team raised $15,300 dollars for the Alzheimer’s Association. With Walk Season over, it’s time to turn our attention to November, which is also National Family Caregivers Month. This month we recognize the impact of caregiving and honor the more than 15 million Americans caring for someone with Alzheimer’s. In 2016, these caregivers provided an estimated 18.2 billion hours of care valued at over $230 billion.

Importantly, Congress is currently considering legislation that would provide much needed support to our nation’s family caregivers — the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregivers Act (S. 1028/ H.R. 3759). Endorsed by the Alzheimer’s Association and the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement, the RAISE Family Caregivers Act would facilitate the creation of a national strategy to address the many issues facing caregivers, including education and training, long-term services and supports, and financial stability and security.

In September, the Senate unanimously passed the Act, sending a clear message of support to our nation’s family caregivers. I am thankful to Senators Klobuchar and Franken for supporting the RAISE Family Caregivers Act as cosponsors of the bill. It is now time for the House of Representatives to take the same action and pass the RAISE Family Caregivers Act, with Rep. Peterson already signed on as a cosponsor, please join me in thanking him as well for his support.

Beth Magnusson

Alzheimer’s Advocacy

Ambassador for MN District 7