February 2023 - Remembering Bob Schmidt, launching the CLBDI YouTube channel, surpassing our goals, and more.

Hello Lewy Warriors!

As promised in our last post, we have tons of stuff to share with you in this month's update! So let's get right to it...

First and foremost, we wanted to take a moment to remember and honour the life of Robert "Bob" Schmidt who passed away on February 8th, 2020. Bob's Lewy Body Dementia diagnosis and LBD journey helped catalyze the creation of CLBDI. He was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, and so much more. Everything we do, we do for him and others like him.

You can visit Bob's 2021 memorial here. 

You can read the article about Bob, "Remembering Bob Schmidt, Lewy Warrior", from Valerie Hill at The Waterloo Record here:

https://www.therecord.com/.../remembering-bob-schmidt-a...

In loving memory of Robert "Bob" Schmidt.
June 28, 1944 - February 8, 2020

​Secondly, in case you missed it, the good folks over at UWO have created a secondary donation page for donations made in memory of a Loved One. We've seen an increase in people wanting to create fundraiser in memory of a Loved One and people asking how to properly include options for donations in the obituary and/or at the funeral. This new site streamlines the whole process and makes it much easier for everyone. If you wish to set up a fundraiser in the name of a loved one who has recently passed but don't know where to start, please don't hesitate to reach out to us via email or messenger.

We have updated the CLBDI website to feature both the new personal donation landing page and the new memorial donation page.

In other news, we FINALLY have an in-person Lewy Body Dementia presentation coming up next month! This marks our first official LBD presentation since 2019 and (hopefully) the first of many this year. Carol, our founder, is going to be speaking at Mt. Zion church in Waterloo on Wednesday, March 22nd as part of their "Beneath The Surface In Waterloo" series. If you're a member of the church, want to book a presentation, or are interested in more information, please send us an email. We're super excited to get out in the community, educate, advocate, and meet some new people.

Another amazing announcement we have for you is that we have raised more than our goal of $40,000.00 in total donations and our new donation total, as of earlier this month, is around $41,550.00. We also know that we have since surpassed that number and are on our way to our next goal of $45,000.00! We expect to reach it before the end of the year. Thank you again to everyone who has donated or been a part of this journey. We couldn't do it without you!

​Lastly, our YouTube account is going to be going live in two days! We'll be sharing the link and information on our Facebook page and website on Tuesday, February 28th. The first video will be a digital version of our LBD presentation and we have plans to publish interviews, behind-the-scenes videos, vlogs, and more LBD-related content. Please consider giving us a like and follow and share our first video!

We hope you've had a wonderful month and managed to stay out of all the bad weather we've had. We've got lots more coming in March!

See you in a month,
​Joe