Badlands Harley-Davidson presented the Alzheimer Society of Alberta and Northwest Territories with a $3,400 cheque after a fundraiser which had Ty Karsten shave his head and beard to raise funds for the society. From left are Alariss Schmid, Ty Karsten, Taya Karsten and Roger Marple.--NEWS PHOTO KELLEN TANIGUCHI
ktaniguchi@medicinehatnews.com@@kellentaniguchi
Ty Karsten of Badlands Harley-Davidson is now almost unrecognizable – the motorcycle salesman shaved his head and beard after the company raised $3,400 for the Alzheimer Society of Alberta and Northwest Territories.
Ty’s sister Taya says she always bugged him about his beard, and it led to him agreeing to shave it off if they met their fundraising goal.
“We always bugged him. He had a really rugged beard and shaggy hair,” Taya said with a laugh. “We always bugged him about it and it was just a little joke and then it started with me and one of the other motor clothes girl that he would let us shave his head if we raised $500 and then finally we convinced him if we raised $2,000 we would shave his beard and his head.”
Ty says it was difficult for him to shave the beard he’s been growing for more than a year, but says raising money for the Alzheimer Society was an easy decision.
“It’s close to home for us as far as family members,” he said. “We’ve lost our grandma to it, our great grandma to it, our grandma’s sister to it. So, it’s just something that means a lot to us.”
Ty and Taya’s dad has owned Badlands Harley-Davidson for 25 years and Ty says he’s thankful for the community support they received with this fundraiser.
“It’s nice to see us all get together, especially with what we’re going through right now around the world, just a big thank-you and shoutout to not only to the staff, but the community for the support, endless positive feedback and everyone getting together and helping us raise and go above and beyond our goal,” said Ty.
The Karsten’s presented the $3,400 cheque to the Alzheimer Society of Alberta and Northwest Territories at their shop Monday morning and Alariss Schmid, regional lead in Medicine Hat, says it will help the society a lot.
“It allows us to continue supporting the many families in this area that are living with dementia, so individuals and groups of people that come for our support services, education services and our awareness support,” said Schmid.
Board member with the society, Roger Marple, lives with dementia and says he utilizes services the Alzheimer Society offers, which help people learn to live with the disease stage by stage.
“When someone’s diagnosed with a terminal condition, a lot of people tend to view this condition from an end-of-life point of view – it’s how we’re conditioned to learn about the disease,” said Marple. “One thing they’re really good at is backing up the conversation and helping you live a meaningful life in the here and now and addressing the different stages as it goes … it helps people live a meaningful life and that work is so meaningful.”
Marple and Schmid say Badlands Harley-Davidson organized and ran the fundraiser on their own and surprised them with a phone call to let them know they had a cheque for them. Marple says it brings him joy when he sees community members support the Alzheimer Society.
