The Alzheimer’s Association recognizes two foundations today for their philanthropic efforts to support Alzheimer’s disease research. MetLife Foundation and GHR Foundation are receiving the Jerome H. Stone Philanthropy Award for Alzheimer’s Research at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference® 2015 (AAIC® 2015) in Washington, D.C.
Over nearly three decades, MetLife and MetLife Foundation have invested more than $32 million in Alzheimer’s research and public information programs, including over $17 million through its Awards for Medical Research in Alzheimer’s disease. It has also supported a number of other major Alzheimer’s initiatives, including:
- the PBS documentary “The Forgetting: A Portrait of Alzheimer’s;”
- short pocket films on Alzheimer’s narrated by David Hyde-Pierce;
- the film “Alzheimer’s Disease: Facing the Facts;”
- Alzheimer’s toolkits; and
- resources for the Hispanic community.
Started in 1965 by Gerald and Henrietta Rauenhorst, GHR Foundation seeks transformational change in health, education and global development, and it partners with the world’s experts to achieve impact. In the philanthropic spirit of their founders—whose lives were impacted by Alzheimer’s disease—GHR Foundation’s Health Program funds innovative approaches to Alzheimer’s prevention research. GHR Foundation has funded Alzheimer’s research for more than three decades and is focused on supporting the goal of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer's by 2025. The Foundation has committed more than $17 million over five years to scaling up important Alzheimer’s research already underway. GHR is funding some of the largest prevention research efforts in the field including:
- Mayo Clinic Study of Aging;
- Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer’s Network Trials Unit study;
- Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer's Disease Study; and
- Apolipoprotein E gene (APOE) haplotypes study.
“With the support of GHR Foundation and MetLife Foundation we have made extraordinary advancements in Alzheimer’s research, care and support,” said Harry Johns, president and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association. “This year, these two exceptional foundations are being honored—a testament to the impact people and organizations as a whole can have in the fight against Alzheimer’s. The generosity expressed through the philanthropic efforts of these foundations has led to numerous new programs and resources that support Alzheimer’s researchers and those impacted by the disease. On behalf of the Alzheimer’s Association, I sincerely thank MetLife and the GHR Foundation for all they have done in this area.”
The awards are being presented during the AAIC 2015 opening session on Sunday, July 19. Accepting the award for MetLife Foundation is A. Dennis White, president and chief executive officer, and for GHR Foundation Fred Miller, strategic consultant, is accepting.
The Jerome H. Stone Philanthropy Award for Alzheimer’s Research was created to recognize the world’s top philanthropists for actively engaging in the Alzheimer’s cause through a generous commitment to research. The award honors the legacy of the primary founder of the Alzheimer’s Association, Jerome Stone. Stone, who passed away earlier this year, was among the first to call for investment in Alzheimer’s research. He took the helm of the Alzheimer’s cause, establishing the Alzheimer’s Association in 1980 in loving memory of his late wife, Evelyn T. Stone, who had Alzheimer’s disease.
The Alzheimer’s Association is committed to accelerating the global effort to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease and to recognizing the efforts of researchers who further our understanding about this devastating disease. The Association is the largest nonprofit funder of Alzheimer’s research. It currently supports nearly 350 ongoing research projects in 21 countries, totaling over $78 million. Since 1982, it has awarded nearly $340 million to almost 2,300 scientific investigations.
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