Residents, family members and friends at Spring Arbor will plant a time capsule and dig it up 20 years from now. NeuseNews/Rudy Coggins

Residents of Kinston and Lenior County can participate in a unique opportunity to preserve memories of family members and friends battling Alzheimer's and dementia.

Spring Arbor, an assisted living facility, invites everyone affected by the devastating diseases to share their stories, labeled photographs and other items for inclusion in a time capsule. A ceremony and candlelight vigil is planned for Thursday from 4-6 p.m.

The Honorable Mayor Don Hardy will present a proclamation from North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper. Guest speakers include Heather Hooper, the executive director of the Dementia Alliance of North Carolina; and Debbie Chused, a former Kinston-Lenoir County Chamber of Commerce Pinnacle of Achievement award recipient.

"November is National Alzheimer's Month, and I wanted something different and unique to honor that, so that's how we came up with the idea of a time capsule," said Stephanie King, senior Cottage Care counselor and a certified expert in dementia at Spring Arbor.

"It means everything. … Events like this really bring everybody together so that they know they're not alone and they do have support."

The stainless-steel cylinder, approximately three feet in height, will also hold cottage-specific items. King will place a list of approaches used to treat Alzheimer's patients, a family picture of everyone at Spring Arbor, her newsletter and activity calendar, and statistics that cover the cost of treatment and the number of people affected statewide.

The time capsule will be dug up in November 2039.

Amanda Haddock, marketing director at Spring Arbor, said there are an estimated 1,000 families in Lenoir County that have loved ones suffering from dementia. There is no treatment or cure for the debilitating disease that occurs in many forms and has a zero survival rate.

"We're trying to learn more information and perhaps in 20 years, maybe even having a cure," Haddock said. "That's our hope going forward. Right now what we're trying to do is capture what it looks like at this moment. … We also think about the emotional aspects of things...remembering the people who at this point can't always remember things themselves.

"The hope is that there will be a very different picture [in 2039]."

The Alzheimer's Association said approximately 170,000 people lived with Alzheimer's in North Carolina during 2018. The statistic is projected to increase by 23.5 percent in 2025 - a total of 210,000 diagnoses.

"Every day I talk to families who do feel so alone," Haddock said. "They don't have a lot of support and this is a way to show the community you're not alone. Also, to bring them together so maybe they can make some connections and be support [systems] for each other."