Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 4/26/23 – From Press Release
On Saturday April 29th, the 11th annual Play for the As lacrosse event will be held at Ridley High School in Folsom. The event, started in 2013, fully supports families in the Philly region who provide care to loved ones suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disorder that slowly destroys thinking and memory skills. It is currently the 6th leading cause of death in the U.S. (now affecting over 6 million Americans) and the 3rd leading cause of death among older people (behind only heart disease and cancer).
During the event’s first 10 years, PFAs has raised over $133,000 (already over $4,000 this year) to support caregivers whose lives are turned “upside down” by the demands of 24 hours/day, 7 days/week, 365 days/year care of their loved one. PFAs works directly with The Community’s Foundation (home office in Springfield PA) to allocate financial resources to families in the area who show a financial need for funding, and PFSs have received countless, heartwarming thanks from these families for the support provided through these efforts.
One recent card of thanks from a beneficiary family reads: “Thank you for all the love and support “Play For the As” extended to [our family] during this difficult journey. Your help meant so much to us – a few extra hours of help gave me time to recover and begin again. We will never forget your love.”
The game schedule for this year’s event is:
10:00 am – Springfield-Delco vs. Owen J. Roberts (boys)
12:00 pm – Ridley vs. Kingsway Regional-NJ (boys)
2:00 pm – Ridley vs. Chichester (girls)
4:00 pm – Strath Haven vs. Avon Grove (boys)
Secure donations continue to be accepted through TCF at http://weblink.donorperfect.com/PlayfortheAs
PGAs is grateful for the support of many over the past decade in helping us help others, and invite members of your lacrosse community who might benefit from the resources provided through PFAs to reach out to Ridley coach and PFSs founder Jef Hewlings via this email address (jhewsg@gmail.com)
