VIDEO: Casts of COME FROM AWAY, CATS, and More Support 6th Annual Broadway Alzheimer's iPod Drive

Dave Roth, Broadway musician and Alzheimer's advocate, has announced the return of the 6th Annual Broadway Alzheimer's iPod Drive beginning August 1st and running through August 19th. Dave's mother suffered from Alzheimer's disease and was stripped of awareness and language for the 3 years prior to her death in 2014. He introduced his mother to an iPod filled with her favorite music and watched her sing words that he hadn't heard her speak in years. Unfortunately now his father also suffers from the same disease. "It is very painful to realize that your own father doesn't know who you are but you just put one foot in front of the other and continue to love him and provide memories in the hopes that there is still a window open to the mind" said Roth.

Roth's inspiration was the Sundance award-winning documentary Alive Inside now available through streaming, which follows the work of Dan Cohen and his organization Music & Memory (www.musicandmemory.org). Dan is a trained social worker with a background in technology and realized there was a perfect marriage to be had with both. He has been spending the better part of a decade introducing iPods into facilities that care for those with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. Specifically targeting music that speaks to that particular patient in an effort to recall memories and emotions from their past. The results are absolutely astounding! Patients that are in a catatonic state or are detached are awakened and move, sing and even converse about what they are experiencing through the music. Of course, as a musician Roth was not surprised by the power of this music but seeing it first hand was still incredibly moving and inspiring.

Through the documentary, Dan related the frustrations of trying to convince these institutions to spend the minuscule money on listening devices only to find they were much more inclined to spend thousands more on psychotropic drugs to sedate these patients. "That really resonated with me", said Roth. "I knew that there was something I could do and more importantly something my community of fellow musicians and artists could do."

Roth and CaringKind NYC (The Heart of Alzheimer's Caregiving) have once again reached out to those onstage and in the pit to help spread the word about this amazing project. "So many people have used iPods sitting in drawers or boxes and I thought this is the most beautiful recycling program ever," Roth said. "I'm thrilled to have Kristen Chenoweth, Jonathan Groff, John Eric Parker and the casts, crew and musicians all across Broadway teaming up to support the Drive."

You can see their testimonials in the video!

This year we are also looking for monetary donations towards Music & Memory that can be used towards purchasing an iPod for those that don't have used ones anymore. You can visit the donation page at https://musicandmemory.org/donate-now. We ask that you write Broadway Alzheimer's iPod Drive in the "in memory of" section of the donation page to help us track our efforts.

You can mail or drop off your used iPod, Apple listening device and chargers to:

AFM Local 802

322 West 48th Street, 5th Floor

New York, NY, 10036

Or

CaringKind NYC

The Heart of Alzheimer's Caregiving

360 Lexington, 4th Floor

New York, NY 10017

For more information please visit www.facebook.com/BroadwayAlzheimersiPodDrive.