Submitted by Catherine (CJ) Pearce for Game Night to Remember
For the past 2 years, local favorite Game Night to Remember has been bringing together community members from around the South Sound for 24 hours of free, family-friendly fun. This year’s event on October 6 and 7 is expected to double in size and scope; and the volunteers hope to raise $10,000 toward ending Alzheimer’s disease!
Game Night to Remember (GNTR) is hosted at Gabi’s Olympic Cards and Comics in Lacey, which has recently finished a major expansion to double the size of the gameplay area. This growth allows room for GNTR to be divided into 5 major sections: freeplay board games, play-to-win games, RPGs (role-playing games), indie/demos, and large special events. Just like every year, there will be games for every player, from casual classics like Clue, to a version of Magic the Gathering called Battlebond. There will also be a general pub-style trivia challenge, and one entire team trivia event with only Harry Potter facts!
The event’s creator, Catherine (CJ) Pearce, credits her success in creating the event with great support from local businesses. Olympia marketing company Fashionably Frank created a new website for the event and professional photographer Cast + Forge captures treasured moments from the event to help promote it.
“Every year, I get a donation from nearly every business in Olympia who I contact.” CJ says. “It is a wonderful feeling to know that we live in a community that is always willing to give back so readily.” This support is what helps CJ to keep the event entirely free to the public. Hard work and generosity is also how Game Night to Remember has maintained no operating funds for 3 years, giving 100% of every dollar raised directly to the Alzheimer’s Association.
This model for fundraising is very important to CJ, who lost her dad, Nick, to the disease in 2014. Nick Pearce received a diagnosis with Alzheimer’s in his mid-50s and had to retire much earlier than expected from his job as a high school Art teacher. He received cutting edge treatments and care, but passed away at the young age of 61.
“There are 2 things that really resonate with me about this disease and why we have to stop it,” CJ explains, “the first is how different this disease is from all the others, because there is absolutely no hope. People have survived stage 4 cancer, but there has never been an Alzheimer’s survivor. The second thing is that your lifestyle choices don’t matter. There is no blame or cause or prevention or link that has been substantiated. You could be the healthiest person alive (and my dad was extremely healthy), but this disease might take your mind and then your body, anyway. This is why we have to stop it.”
CJ works directly with the Washington State Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association to ensure that her efforts go toward the needs and support within our state.
You can help CJ and her team of 13 volunteers to be a huge success, and have a blast while doing it! Head over to Olympic Cards and Comics between 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 6, and 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 7 to show support, learn new games, and win prizes!
