October 3, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 3, 2013
For more information,
Contact: Jennifer Lawson
Moxley Carmichael
(865) 544-0088
On hand for the kickoff Thursday at Stanley’s Greenhouses and Plant Farm were, from left, UT Lady Vols Head Coach Emeritus Pat Summitt; UT Women’s Athletic Director emeritus and Pat Summitt Foundation Advisory Board member Joan Cronan; Pat Summitt Foundation Director Patrick Wade and project steering committee chairwoman Susie Stiles.
Pat Summitt, head coach emeritus of Tennessee Lady Vols basketball, was on hand Thursday at the kickoff of the second annual Alzheimer’s Pansy Project that benefits The Pat Summitt Foundation.
The goal of the Alzheimer’s Pansy Project is to decorate Knoxville in purple and orange pansies as a symbol of support for all of those fighting Alzheimer’s disease. Stanley’s Greenhouses and Plant Farm, as well as Mayo Garden Centers, will donate proceeds from sales of the specially grown pansies to The Pat Summitt Foundation. The promotion will run through November, or until inventory of the flowers is sold out.
Purple has come to represent the fight against Alzheimer’s, and the orange needs no explanation. The French word for pansy is pensée, meaning “thought.” Joan Cronan, Women’s Athletic Director emeritus and Pat Summitt Foundation Advisory Board member, urged people to send a visible message of support by covering the city in orange and purple pansies just as Summitt painted the city UT orange.
Project committee chairwoman Susie Stiles invited citizens and business owners in Knoxville, Knox County and East Tennessee to help raise awareness of the devastating effects of Alzheimer’s disease.
“When you plant orange and purple pansies this fall, we invite you to make it a labor of love and support for our Pat Summitt, and for all those in our community affected by Alzheimer’s – patients, their families, their caregivers and healthcare practitioners,” Stiles said. “When coach Summitt and all those touched by Alzheimer’s see those orange and purple pansies, they will know we as a community are thinking of them, sending them a message of love and support.”
Stanley’s Greenhouses and Plant Farm locations
305 S. Northshore Drive in West Knoxville (The Secret Garden), 3029 Davenport Road in South Knoxville.
Maps and directions available at www.stanleysgreenhouses.com
Mayo Garden Center locations:
4718 Kingston Pike in Bearden
620 E. Emory Road in Powell
9629 Kingston Pike in Farragut
Maps and directions available at: http://www.mayogardencenters.com/contact-us
About The Pat Summitt Foundation:
The Pat Summitt Foundation Fund leaders believe no family should have to hear a diagnosis like Pat’s: early onset dementia, Alzheimer’s type. The fund will make grants to nonprofit organizations that provide: education and awareness of Alzheimer’s, its onset and treatment; support services to patients, their families and caregivers; and research to treat, prevent, cure and ultimately eradicate this disease. www.patsummitt.org
