The Kensington Redondo Beach is delighted to share Hilarity for Charity’s 2023 CareCon online event, designed to help bring awareness and support to caregivers everywhere. In case you missed it, watch below or explore the entire playlist here!
CareCon is a free, virtual event designed to inspire, educate, and empower caregivers who assist Alzheimer’s and dementia family members—hosted by HFC founders and Hollywood power couple Lauren Miller Rogen and Seth Rogen.
Caregiving for elderly family members with dementia can be one of the most challenging periods of someone’s life.
As part of Redondo Beach’s continuing efforts to bolster caregiver support groups and caregivers, we’re very pleased to collaborate with and promote HFC’s series of CareCon events.
What is CareCon?
CareCon event is a free, virtual get-together to help support dementia and Alzheimer’s family caregivers. The event is hosted by the founders of Hilarity for Charity (HFC), Lauren Miller Rogen, and Seth Rogen and features expert-led workshops and even celebrity panels!
How did CareCon start?
CareCon was created during the COVID-19 pandemic, in early 2021, to provide support and resources to families affected by Alzheimer’s disease. The event aimed to honor and connect caregivers from all across the country.
Celebrity Guests for CareCon 2023
This year’s guests included celebrity panelists such as Wayne Brady, Joey McIntyre, and Kate Burton!
Along with discussions, helpful advice, and resource connections for caregivers who assist people with Alzheimer’s and dementia, HFC also presented the Scotty Award.
What is the Scotty Caregiver Award?
Kensington Senior Living sponsored HFC’s Scotty Award at CareCon on National Caregivers Day, Feb. 17, 2023.
This award is named in honor of Scott Miller, loving caregiver to HFC founder Lauren Miller Rogen’s late mother, Adele. The award recognizes an unpaid dementia caregiver nominated by friends, family members, or themselves.
A panel of judges made up of current and former caregivers as well as thought leaders, selected a winner who is recognized for their dedicated characteristics throughout a caregiving experience:
- Loving support they provide(d) during a difficult time
- Patience and perseverance demonstrated
- Creativity exhibited
Who can win the Scotty Award?
HFC emphasizes that the Scotty award is not a recognition of the best caregiver, the hardest working caregiver, or the bravest.
Instead, the Scotty Award is considered a symbol and HFC’s way of recognizing ALL those family caregivers who work, strive, love, and sometimes struggle while caring for a loved one living with the serious effects of Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia.
The winner of the Scotty Award receives an HFC Recharge Respite Grant, which provides 50 hours of in-home professional respite care or the cash equivalent.
Our nominee from Redondo Beach is Sarah Walton!
Sarah, an Environmental Services Team Member, has been a part of our Kensington family since we opened our doors in 2019. She is the sole caregiver at home to her daughter’s father, providing support around the clock while balancing a full-time job here and raising her nine-year-old daughter.
She has made incredible sacrifices to be able to manage caregiving, including pausing her school studies. We are in awe of her selflessness and truly honored to nominate her for the HFC Scotty Caregiver Award!
What is Hilarity for Charity (HFC)?
In 2012, the Rogens created HFC after Lauren’s mother, Adele, was diagnosed with the disease at 55.
Since then, HFC has generated over $17 million for the cause by organizing several in-person events.
CareCon was created to provide a break for and to recognize family caregivers. Since its launch, HFC has provided 375,000 hours of respite care through its Caregiver Respite Grant program.
Alexandra Villano, the senior director of program development and strategy at HFC, said that people at HFC recognized that caregivers were feeling isolated during the pandemic. They started CareCon to bring them together and reduce that feeling of isolation.
Now, CareCon is a virtual event that takes place annually, thanks to the support of HFC’s event sponsors—Prothena, Genentech, and, of course, Kensington Senior Living.
The Kensington Redondo Beach and HFC recognize the need for caregiver support
The Kensington Redondo Beach knows how challenging caring for someone with dementia can be.
Our memory care team is professionally trained to deal with the day-to-day needs of our guests—and the occasional big challenges—no matter how much the resident’s needs change.
Our two neighborhoods of memory care – Haven and Connections – cater to early and late stages of Alzheimer’s and dementia.
But as a part of Our Promise to care for our residents as if they were our own loved ones, we know how rewarding this job can be as well.
To find the right balance—caring for your loved one without succumbing to caregiver burnout—means connecting to a larger caregiver community and caregiver support groups.
The Kensington Redondo Beach is proud to help caregivers everywhere make those connections.
If you, or someone you know, is looking for solutions for their caregiving situation, reach out to us. The Kensington Redondo Beach offers many services such as rehabilitation and senior enrichment activities.
We’ve been there. We can help.