Erica Kubena’s crafty way to Longest Day
The Longest Day is a team event to raise funds and awareness for the Alzheimer’s Association. Held annually on the summer solstice, the duration of this sunrise-to-sunset event symbolizes the challenging journey of those living with the disease and their caregivers. In this article, we feature one of our Longest Day participants, Erica Kubena.
The Longest Day is a team event to raise funds and awareness for the Alzheimer’s Association. Held annually on the summer solstice, the duration of this sunrise-to-sunset event symbolizes the challenging journey of those living with the disease and their caregivers. Teams are encouraged to create their own experience as they fundraise and participate in an activity they love to honor someone facing the disease. In this article, we feature one of our Longest Day participants, Erica Kubena.
My name is Erica Kubena! A little bit about me…I will talk your ear off about anything and everything (came in handy when I worked in radio for about 8 years!) I love music of all kinds – from country to rock to pop. My choices of Counting Crows or Hootie & the Blowfish may not appeal to everyone, but stick around – it’s bound to change! I’m 38 years old and have lived in Elmwood Park, IL for the majority of my life. I also did some time out in Kansas and Quincy, IL. Sometimes a girl has to move around, but it’s good to have a place to call home. Speaking of home, I’m married to the most amazing (Australian!) man, Daniel Kubena, for the past 4 years (5 years in October!). I have worked at Steiner Electric Company for about 12 years – the majority of the time as the Service Coordinator in the Power Systems division. It can be stressful – but I seem to thrive under pressure. I mentioned radio and music already as interests/hobbies, but I also love to be creative through painting and other crafts and photography, and I also love to travel (I need a vacation!). I have a beautiful godchild, Melanie and some of the best friends and family ever!
How did you come to be involved with the The Longest Day?
My mother, Joanne Wieckert (or Mama W to my friends), was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in October of 2010. I had no idea what was in store at the time and can definitely attribute earlier “incidents” to signs of the disease, especially now that I know more about it. My father passed away in July 2011, three months before my wedding, and I couldn’t imagine letting her go through this alone. So my husband and I put our house search on hold and we stayed with my mom. Since I became my mother’s POA, I started hearing about the Alzheimer’s Association more and more as a place to read about the stages of the disease, find support, resources, etc. So, I checked it out, signed up for newsletters and began following everything I could for more personal awareness of what the disease entails and what I could do about it. I heard about the Longest Day initially from my involvement with the Alzheimer’s Association website. I clicked the link and decided I wanted to do something – anything – to bring more awareness and funding to the disease, along with support for people who live with it, care for people who live with it or love people who live with it.
What activities will you do for the The Longest Day?
This is my first year participating in The Longest Day! I have a great group of friends who share my vision/passion for raising money and awareness for Alzheimer’s disease, and our team is called The Purple Winged Warriors! This year, we are exploring our crafty side and making a couple different paintings, mason jar lights and mason jar baseball team (Cubs/Sox) pen holders. We are also exploring the idea of creating t-shirts, hair clips and more! People can donate money and at a certain dollar amount ($30) and they can choose one of the crafts. Donate more, and you choose more! Then on The Longest Day, we will fill our orders and craft/paint all day. So far, we have raised $1,100 and still have a lot of time ahead of us to raise even more!
Why is The Longest day important to you?
It is important to me, not only because of my mom, but because of all of the people I know who have reached out to me and shared stories about losing loved ones to this disease. My teammates all have been affected in one way or another, and friends have reached out to tell me their stories — so many stories, so many people and it’s growing! This is NOT a club that people are trying to get into on purpose, rather it chooses you, and the member enrollment just keeps going up! I want people to be aware of what is going on, and I want more people to realize that there needs to be more funding for research, caregiver support, and hope for finding a cure. Living with this disease and all the care needed going through the different stages is expensive! There is a lot of awareness and support for other diseases like cancer, but now is the time to increase awareness for Alzheimer’s.
Why should others participate in The Longest Day?
Well, it’s a great reason to take off of work and hang out with friends! Also, because memories matter, and I want to remember every milestone in my life – every special moment with my mom, and all the fun times with my friends. I know other people want the same for themselves and their loved ones also! How fun, we get to raise money for a great cause and have fun at the same time! I’ve been reading about other team’s activities and literally, they’re doing everything and anything – from hiking to biking to outdoor barbecues and more!
I really love the work the Alzheimer’s Association does for caregivers as well as all those affected by this disease. I have enjoyed the support in every aspect for The Longest Day – from the great web design of the team page, to all of the resources, tips and suggestions for fundraising and activities to do. I have been building myself up emotionally to be strong enough to do The Longest Day and now that I’m doing it, I only see more in the future for The Purple Winged Warriors! #ENDALZ #TheLongestDay