The room will be filled with energetic music when local Elvis Presley tribute band, Shelvis & The Roustabouts headline the Wild Goose Saloon in Parker Sunday Nov. 5. for the Rock the Benefit fundraiser.
Funds raised at Rock the Benefit will support free services and programs offered by the Alzheimer’s Association of Colorado for Colorado families, as well as research for a cure.
Inspired to help the Alzheimer’s Association, Rock the Benefit started when Chuck Bautista’s father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2011. At the time, Bautista and his family were living in Houston, Texas.
When Bautista, his wife and two kids moved to Colorado in 2018, he was looking for a way to get involved with the Alzheimer’s Association and stay connected with his father.
“Kind of supporting my dad,” said Bautista. “And the best way for me to do that in my own mind was to reach out to the association and see if I could get involved.”
Bautista became a board member of the association for a period of time.
During this time, Bautista started a band with Ray Caruso and began playing local shows and one year, decided to put a tip jar out. Even though it wasn’t a lot of money, the funds went towards the Denver Walk to End Alzheimer’s.
After inviting friends the following year, they raised around $2,000 and after adding a regional band last year, they donated an additional $13,000.
This year, Wild Goose Saloon, located at 11160 S Pikes Peak Dr. donated their space for the fourth annual event to take place.
With doors opening at 1 p.m. and the concert starting at 2 p.m., local bands Red Pinto Wagon and country artist Lane Smith will be joining Shelvis & The Roustabouts.
Guests will also have the chance to take part in games and raffles, in which tickets to a Nuggets basketball game will be raffled off, as well as a basketball signed by players from the previous season.
Tickets are $30 for general admission or $100 for VIP access and are available at https://holdmyticket.com/event/422228.
All proceeds will go towards the Denver Walk to End Alzehimer’s.
“We hope that we can still raise money and awareness for the association,” said Bautista. “And for the folks living with the disease and the people who care about them and are helping care for them.”
The Alzheimer’s Association is the world’s leading nonprofit funder of Alzheimer’s research, with over $320 million active in over 1,000 projects in 54 countries.
Nationally, 6.7 million people are living with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
In Colorado, 76,000 live with Alzheimer’s and it is projected to be 92,000 in 2050, which is a 21% increase. Additionally, the latest figure available from the association states over 1,900 people died from Alzheimer’s in 2019.
Other prominent facts about Alzheimer’s from the association include:
- The 7th leading cause of death of people in the U.S. and the only leading cause of death without a prevention or cure.
- More than one in nine people in the U.S. age 65 and older has Alzheimer’s dementia.
- Women make up two-thirds of those diagnosed.
- Black Americans are twice as likely as Whites to be diagnosed.
- Hispanic Americans are 50% more likely than Whites to be diagnosed.
As advocacy efforts for the Alzheimer’s Association has increased, so has the research funding from the U.S. government, said Jim Herlihy, senior director of marketing and communications for the Alzheimer’s Association Rocky Mountain Region.
Also, the Alzheimer’s Association has funded a number of local research projects, such as research into if a flu shot can protect the brain from dementia.
Despite the continuous research, there is no cure yet, however, there have been several medications approved in the last 18 months, said Herlihy. These medications have shown a slowing of the progression.
This story has been updated.