04/26/2026
Hey North Carolina friends!
Garden club springs into action to host Healing Through Gardening event for neighbors living with dementia
PINEHURST— Pinehurst Garden Club’s Dogwood Branch is planting seeds of inclusion with their Healing Through Gardening event and fundraiser benefitting the Still Us Foundation, a new, local nonprofit dedicated to redefining dementia care by supporting the full care circle—individuals, care partners and the healthcare workforce—with a sanctuary model that creates brain change friendly spaces, meaningful relationships and structured programming that preserve dignity, reduce caregiver burnout and keep families connected.
This Healing Through Gardening special event invites neighbors living with dementia or brain change for an excursion of making fresh flower bouquets prior to Mother’s Day on Wednesday, May 6 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at Community Presbyterian Church, located at 125 Everett Rd., Pinehurst. The event is free and open to all community members living with brain change and their families or care partners, or those who would like to support the effort.
“I am delighted for the Dogwood Branch of Pinehurst Garden Club to join the Still Us Foundation in bringing a spark of joy for these wonderful people through hands-on participation and accomplishment in a worthwhile project,” said Molly Rowell, club chairman.
“Nature is a powerful form of medicine,” added Sue Wright, board president of the Still Us Foundation. “Few activities offer the same sense of accomplishment, joy and connection to beauty as gardening—whether tending a flower bed in the yard or caring for pots on a porch or deck. Yet for many individuals living with brain change or mobility challenges, gardening may no longer feel accessible. This program will give individuals living with brain change, along with their care partners, the opportunity to once again participate in an activity they have long loved.”
Garden club members are providing helping hands, fresh flowers, decorative containers, ribbon and all the items the attendees need to create bouquets for themselves as well as bouquets available to the public for a donation of $10, with all proceeds benefiting the Still Us Foundation. All are welcome to come by and pick up a handcrafted, fresh flower bouquet to celebrate Mother’s Day with a donation.
Participants may come by any time between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. and stay for as little or as long as they wish, and bouquets will be available onsite throughout the event.
In addition to the Mother’s Day bouquets, community members are also encouraged to view and make a donation for a raffle ticket for a stained-glass garden art piece crafted by local artist Diane Flanegan. The garden art with its copper stand will be on display, and the raffle drawing is set for Saturday after the event.
“It is a beautiful, one-of-a-kind, garden-themed, stained glass artwork piece created by a local artisan, using traditional techniques and featuring rich colors and intricate patterns to bring light and character to any garden setting,” said Lori Lee, secretary of the Still Us Foundation and branch treasurer for the garden club.
Lee, who is organizing the Healing Through Gardening event and fundraiser, is combining her volunteer efforts—gardening and supporting inclusion for our neighbors living with dementia/brain change—into making the Still Us Foundation’s first community fundraising event a success.
“We are working together to transform the experience of brain change for individuals and families in our community,” Lee said. “This Healing Through Gardening event is rooted in a profound belief that medicine alone is not enough to constitute the best care for brain disease, that people living with brain change need their community.”
Lee joined the board of the Still Us Foundation hoping to further her community impact after previously participating as a dementia champion in The Engaged Brains Project, led by neuropsychologist Karen D. Sullivan, PhD, ABPP.
“Dementia touches so many of our lives, often quietly and painfully, but just like a garden, with the right care and community, something meaningful and beautiful can still grow,” said Sullivan, founder and executive director of the Still Us Foundation. “That’s the heart of Still Us. We are deeply touched by this early support and honored to see our community rally around a more connected, compassionate model of care. We are in our early days, so you’ll be hearing a lot more about our mission very soon.”
“We offer our sincere appreciation to the Pinehurst Garden Club Dogwood Branch, led by Molly Rowell, for selecting the Still Us Foundation as the beneficiary of this meaningful event,” Wright added. “Their commitment reflects the very heart of our community: dignity, inclusion and the belief that everyone deserves continued access to joy.”
For more information on the Healing Through Gardening event and fundraiser raffle, contact 910-800-3065 or carrie@stillus.org.
