CountryHouse's 5K Color Run raises roughly $3,500 for Alzheimer's Association

Jackie Jahfetson, The Dickinson Press, N.D.
·3 min read

Jun. 20—DICKINSON — June 21 marks the summer solstice, but it is also known to many as "The Longest Day" — the day with the most light — where people from around the world will come together to help fight the darkness of Alzheimer's. On Saturday, the Dickinson community gathered for the 3rd Annual 5K Longest Day Color Run to raise more than $3,500 for the Alzheimer's Association.

Hosted by CountryHouse Residence for Memory Care, the color run drew 115 runners to Rocky Butte Park in Dickinson. Despite humid temperatures reaching a boiling 90 degrees, runners lined up with supportive smiles, sporting various shades of purple — the signature color of the Alzheimer's Association.

"It means the world to us," Amanda Wilson, CountryHouse's memory care director, said. "Working with 30 residents that are living with dementia and just seeing the families come together and the community come together, it's bringing the awareness that we stand for."

CountryHouse Executive Director Tessa Johnson noted that they've raised more than $6,300 this year for the cause.

"Dementia or types of dementia like Alzheimer's affects everybody," Johnson said. "It doesn't matter; everybody knows somebody whether it's a family or a friend and people coming together and just again, we're just always praying for a cure."

As runners made their laps around the paved park path, memory care workers staged at various color stops waited to splash chalk on the participants. From mini water guns to buckets of purple chalk, runners and even some pets were soaked in rainbow colors by the time they crossed the finish line. Along with CountryHouse, Evergreen, St. Luke's Home, Benedictine Living Community and Edgewood Hawks Point all joined in on the fun with their own uniquely themed color stops.

"So we have a really close working relationship, which I think is the best for our community," Johnson added.

Runners in the 5K included Amanda Kessel and Kayla Dukart, both coming out to support the cause. Dukart is hoping that the event will only continue to grow in years to come.

"... I have family that had Alzheimer's. So my great-grandma passed from it," Dukart said. "So it's something that means a lot to our family... When you have family and you watch the disease in progress, it would be nice to find some kind of cure... I think a lot of people who haven't experienced Alzheimer's, they don't really understand the depth of it."

Kessel, who works as a nurse in Dickinson, noted that she likes to see the best come out of every situation and she hopes to bring awareness to the cause.

"I did it last year and it was just a ton of fun and it's just a good time," Kessel said.

As the event drew closer to noon, a bus from CountryHouse arrived, ushering residents with big smiles to interact with the runners of the day. Some even engaged in an impromptu dance as popular music echoed from the adjacent DJ stand to fill the park.

"It's a great cause and we all just want to come together and show our support and do anything that we can do for the Alzheimer's Association and just bringing awareness and hoping for more resources and better community support," Wilson added.