News

Annual bake sale raises funds for Alzheimer’s

The Deeper Window Association’s seventh annual Sweet Exchange 12-hour bake sale for Alzheimer’s was a sellout this year, with the organization raising over $40,000 in donations. Cars began arriving at the event at 7 a.m. Saturday. Although the number of confections had been increased from last year, the confections were sold out by 5 p.m.Morgan Belardo, who managed the event, said there were over 7,000 units produced with her team of volunteers, who baked all last week.“We were well-supported,” said The Deeper Window co-founder Elaine Belardo. “Our hearts are overwhelmed.”Morgan Belardo is the daughter of The Deeper Window Association founders José and Elaine Belardo. Morgan has been baking for the annual event since she was 15 years old. On top of the confection varieties, there were 53 cakes.“We had vanilla, strawberries and cream, lemon, German chocolate, chocolate ganache, carrot cake,” Morgan Belardo said. In December, Morgan Belardo will graduate from Johnson and Wales University in North Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in food and beverage entrepreneurship. In January, she begins work as a pastry chef for Disney World in Orlando. Her culinary arts pursuits began as a journey of love. In 2018, her father, José Belardo, had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.Morgan saw a chance to do something for her father as a part of the national Alzheimer’s Association's annual Longest Day fundraiser. The event has a simple parameter.“You’re supposed to do something you love for the person you love,” her mother Elaine Belardo explained. “Morgan loved to bake. Her dad loved her treats – and (a bake sale) made sense for us.”June is the month of summer solstice, the longest day of the year. “Anybody who is affected by Alzheimer’s or wants to support the Alzheimer’s Association for the month of June, people will do something,” Elaine Belardo said. “It’s a part of research, a part of the care we want to offer people with dementia. People all over the United States will do all kinds of things to support the Longest Day.”The Deeper Window Association was founded by Elaine and José Belardo after his Alzheimer’s diagnosis.The couple found that the closest resources for José meant driving to Johnson County. The Belardos decided to start a foundation in Leavenworth to help the community with better, closer resources. José wanted to make sure dignity and respect were at the forefront of the association’s design.“José told me ‘You can call (the association) whatever you want but you can’t use the word dementia or Alzheimer’s. I don’t want to hear that. I don’t want to see that. I don’t want a T-shirt that says that,’” Elaine Belardo recalled.“We were looking deeper into the window that’s dementia. That’s when we decided to call it ‘The Deeper Window.’ It stands for Dementia Education Empowerment Programs Effort and Resources.”José Belardo participated in the programs he helped design for several years until he died in 2022.Services provided by The Deeper Window Association include mobile respite, a day program for social engagement and a support group for caregivers. Elaine Belardo said the innovative program has been attracting the attention of other communities.“There’s nobody else in Kansas who has it,” Elaine Belardo said. “We’re unique. We’re grassroots. And, this is community-supported. There’s a program in Hays, Kansas, that has come down to copy what we do. We’re glad to help anybody do it.”Donations or more information about The Deeper Window Association can be found at www.thedeeperwindowassocation.org

Read MoreAnnual bake sale raises funds for Alzheimer’s