Officer Mark Carbonnaeu (Far left) was the chef who made all of the chili. He was joined by Senior Police Officials in serving the chili and ice cream to the seniors. (Photo by Peter Currier)
WESTFIELD- The Westfield Senior Center and the Westfield Police Department teamed up to host a fundraiser to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association Thursday.
Officers and officials from the Westfield Police Department served bowls of chili and ice cream sundaes to seniors at the senior center while local musicians Marion Dunk and Chip Arnold of The Keepers performed music. Tickets for the first ever “Cops for a Cause” chili luncheon were $5 per person with all funds benefiting the Alzheimer’s Association. Hundreds of seniors filled the senior center function room for the fundraiser in what appeared to be a complete sellout.
Tina Gorman, director of Westfield’s Council on Aging and the main organizer of the fundraiser, said that she came up with the idea from the Walk to End Alzheimer’s which takes place every September. Gorman said that they had been trying to do related fundraisers, including similar walks of their own, for the past five years. This was the first time they got the police department involved.
“I wanted to partner with the Westfield Police Department because (Officer) Mark Carbonneau makes an awesome chili,” said Gorman, noting that Police Chief Lawrence Valliere was supportive of the idea right from the beginning.
Members of The Keepers perform live. Photo by Peter Currier)
Gorman said that she has already received requests to make this an annual event.
Following the event, Gorman said that they raised $565 in ticket sales and $360 from the 50/50 raffle. The winner of the raffle, musician Chip Arnold, donated his winnings back to the cause. An additional donation of $75 from an anonymous donor brought the total to exactly $1,000.
Ahead of the fundraiser, Gorman said that the number of Americans living with alzheimer’s is “staggering” with 5.8 million people diagnosed with the disease across the country.
“More than 16 million Americans provide unpaid care for people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias,” said Gorman. “These caregivers provided an estimated 18.5 billion hours of care valued at nearly $234 billion.”
She noted that the number of deaths in the U.S. due to heart disease, one of the leading causes of death, has decreased by about nine percent, while deaths from alzheimers have increased by 145 percent between 2000 and 2017.
Gorman said the Westfield Council on Aging representatives regularly utilize the resources provided by the local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.
“The Alzheimer’s Association supports both individuals with the disease as well as their families and caregivers,” said Gorman. “They help with providing valuable information about diagnosis, the progression of disease, communication and behavioral strategies for living or working with someone with Alzheimer’s, legal issues, and respite options.”
The chili being served at the fundraiser was made by Senior Safety Officer Mark Carbonneau using his famous secret recipe. Carbonneau refused to give up the recipe when asked.
“Like a good news story, you never give up your source,” said Carbonneau. “You never give up your recipe.”
Mayoral candidate and Police Capt. Michael McCabe and Capt. Jerome Pitoniak claimed that Carbonneau’s chili is “better than the Fire Department’s chili.”
