Ansonia ceremony to kick off city's participation in Alzheimer's awareness

ANSONIA - The city’s participation in the month long national Alzheimer’s Awareness campaign will officially begin at 10:30 a.m. Friday in front of City Hall.

Mayor David S. Cassetti will lead a list of speakers with an official purple Ribbon Cutting ceremony as the city joins the national campaign “Paint the Town Purple” - the symbolic color of Alzheimer’s Awareness.

This ceremony marks one of the first disease awareness efforts endorsed on a large scale by the city. 
“I’ve been seeking to have Ansonia involved in such a cause for some time, similar to what neighboring communities have done. This just seemed right given its severity and growing affliction numbers,” Cassetti said. “The business outpouring to support our initial campaign has been wonderful and inspiring.”

More than 35 downtown businesses and organizations will participate in Alzheimer awareness support with everything from providing informational handouts, posters, purple Forget-Me-Nots, purple themed drinks, purple desserts, and purple flowers. 
Public donation boxes will be available at most businesses.

In support of the symbolic purple theme, the City has already festooned downtown with several dozen large purple ribbons on its antique light posts, and added a purple center line stripe on Main Street.

Eddy’s Bake Shop is selling purple frosted cupcakes while Lewis Jewelers will feature amethyst jewelry, and Copper City Bar & Grill will offer a special purple drink, to highlight just a few business offerings.

Alzheimer’s claims more than 80,000 lives annually in the United States while afflicting millions more. 

These numbers are projected to increase dramatically over the next 30 years.

If you have any questions about Alzheimer's or any other form of dementia, call the Alzheimer's Association 24-7 helpline at 1-800-272-3900 or go to alz.org/ct.

This is a press release from the Mayor's Office.