An Alzheimer’s Benefit Concert featuring Country Music Star Jay Allen will be held at the historic Park Theater on July 7 at 8 p.m. to raise money for The Hope Alzheimer’s Center.

Jay Allen, known for his appearance on NBC’s “The Voice” and as a well known advocate for sufferers of Alzheimer’s, wrote his song “Blank Stares” in honor of his mother who suffered from the condition before passing. Tickets to the concert can be purchased online at theparkri.com for $50 and $75 apiece.

Supporting sufferers of Alzheimer’s is a cause close to Allen’s heart, a fact that Cranston Resident Lynne Dansereau knew when she reached out to arrange the benefit concert.

“I had seen that he (Jay Allen) had put out on his social media that he’d like to “come to your home town” and put on a benefit concert,” Dansereau said. “He wanted to put on benefit concerts and raise awareness for Alzheimer’s and to help.”

Seeing this message on social media Dansereau was inspired to reach out to him in the hope that his music and message could help bring much needed assistance to the very place that had proven to be a boon in helping her to manage her own mother’s struggle with the condition.

“I remember thinking I’d never hear a response,” Dansereau laughed. “However, he emailed me, and then he put me in touch with his manager, Stacy. I’ve been dealing with her to set up the whole thing together. She has gone over all the specifics with me, what they needed and required, and basically we just need to cover the cost of the band, their hotel and the theater.”

Dansereau said that since it is understandable that Allen still has to pay his band for the show and give them a place to stay, and the cost for those things will come out of the money raised and leave the remaining funds to go directly to Hope Alzheimer’s Center.

“Ticket sales have been slow, but I’m really hoping we can sell out,” Dansereau said hopefully. “I just decided that this would be a great thing to do for The Center that has really just helped us out so much.”

The Hope Alzheimer’s Center, which opened its doors in 1995, acts as an adult day program for people suffering from the condition. With a goal of providing  a safe, caring, therapeutic and enjoyable day health program for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other memory disorders, the center helps those with Alzheimer’s to maintain a degree of normality and mental stimulation that can be hard to receive when sufferers are unable to get out of the house to socialize.

“This all happened like last week,” said President & Chief Executive Officer Ellen Grizzetti. “So we have had absolutely no time to press it or get the word out so far, and the show is the seventh of July. There are some costs associated with it like getting his band here. Still, we’re looking at hopefully getting the word out there and selling the place out.”

In addition to ticket sales, the center aims  to inspire people to sponsor opportunities at different levels. Varying levels of generosity, starting at $500 to $1999 for bronze level and increasing all the way to titanium for donations of $5,000 or above, are another way to help support the work the center does. Dansereau is not alone in building support for the center.

“The fact is our caregivers are so devoted and appreciative of what happens here that they actually take it upon themselves to raise funds,” Grizzetti said. “Just prior to this we had one of our other caregivers nominate us for a grant through the Toyota Foundation. We ended up winning $10,000 for that. We have a fabulous development director, but the families are really showing up and supporting us for what we do and our efforts. I think that just says it all. We’re not only helping the folks that are challenged by memory problems but their families that love them dearly as well.”

Grizzetti said that the center’s goal is to keep families together, and that it is this kind of support that shows they’re achieving that goal.

“We want to keep people in their homes where they want to be for as long as possible,” Grizzetti continued. “They get out during the day. They have this wonderful opportunity for socialization in a medically supervised environment where they’re safe. There is always laughter in here, music in here and it’s very positive. When family comes in they see the medical supports that are around, but that’s not what’s obvious.”

With a goal of providing a safe and medically supportive environment that doesn’t feel any different from a day of socialization and spending time with friends, The Hope Alzheimer’s Center works hard to help those suffering from Alzheimer’s and other memory affecting conditions maintain as much of an ordinary structure and feel to their lives as possible.