DI Club Longest Day event raises $9,600 for Alzheimers research

A good hand was nice, but winning wasn’t really the point when 65 Daniel Island Club members sat down for bridge, canasta, and Mahjong this summer. 

Over the course of 12 hours, players rotated through the club in four shifts, turning games they already enjoy with friends into nearly $9,600 for Alzheimer’s research. It was the largest turnout yet for the Club’s annual Longest Day fundraiser and brought the group’s three-year fundraising total to approximately $29,600. 

Organizers and Daniel Island residents Kathie Harvey and Linda Hite have seen the participation grow around a cause that hits close to home. 

“Each of us participants knows of someone who has been touched by this terrible disease,” Harvey said. 

Harvey and Hite have led the fundraiser for the past four years. This year, play began at 8 a.m. and continued until 8 p.m., with groups of four signing up for three-hour shifts of bridge, canasta, or Mahjong. Some enjoyed themselves enough to stick around for more than one. 

“Participants had fun as the competition was light-hearted,” Harvey said. “We're all there to support the cause.” 

Even some who couldn’t pull up a chair wanted in. Harvey said a number of members with scheduling conflicts made donations anyway, helping push this year’s fundraising total to approximately $9,600. 

The Daniel Island gathering is part of The Longest Day, an annual Alzheimer’s Association fundraiser held around the summer solstice. Across the country, participants choose an activity they enjoy and use it to raise money for Alzheimer’s research, care, and support while recognizing the millions of families affected by the disease. 

An estimated 7.4 million Americans aged 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s dementia in 2026 – roughly one in nine people in that age group – according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Nearly two-thirds are women. 

Purple, the color associated with Alzheimer’s awareness, also showed up throughout the day, with free T-shirts available to participants and many players wearing the color in support.  

Harvey said helping organize the event each year has become rewarding in its own right. 

“It is very fulfilling for me to promote and help organize the fundraiser,” she said. 

Another Longest Day event may be in the cards for next summer.  

“No doubt – we will set a date in June 2027 as close to the longest day of the year to conduct this remarkable event again and every year thereafter,” Harvey said.