employee engagement

Although the Alzheimer’s Association has been in San Diego for 30 years sometimes there’s a little confusion over who we are and what we do.

To give you a short back story, the Alzheimer’s Association was founded in 1980 by a group of family caregivers and individuals interested in research. Today, the Association reaches millions of people worldwide affected by Alzheimer’s through our headquarters in Chicago, a public policy office in Washington, D.C., and a presence in communities across the country.  We’re the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer’s care, support and research.

That sounds like a lot, but what exactly do we do? Grab a cup of coffee and sit back. Here is a partial list of some of our activities:

Care for the caregivers and those suffering from Alzheimer’s and other dementias:

• Our professionally staffed 24/7 Helpline (1.800.272.3900) offers information and advice to more than 300,000 callers each year and provides translation services in more than 200 languages.
• We offer caregivers and families comprehensive online resources and information through our Alzheimer’s and Dementia Caregiver Center.
• Our free online tool, Alzheimer’s Navigator®, helps those facing the disease to determine their needs and develop an action plan, and our online Community Resource Finder is a comprehensive database of programs, service, housing, care services, and legal experts.
• Our safety service, MedicAlert® + Alzheimer’s Association Safe Return®, is a 24-hour nationwide emergency response service for individuals with Alzheimer’s or a related dementia who wander or have a medical emergency.
• We connect people across the globe through our online message boards, ALZConnected® to answer questions and provide support.
• We host educational sessions in the community.

Research, the path to a cure or prevention:

• We accelerate research because simply put, there won’t be a treatment or prevention without it. As the largest nonprofit funder of Alzheimer’s research, the Association is committed to hastening the progress of new treatments and preventions.
• We do more than encourage patients to participate in clinical studies, we help to connect healthy volunteers, people with the disease and caregivers to current studies through Alzheimer’s Association TrialMatch®, a free, easy-to-use clinical studies matching service.
• We advance the understanding of Alzheimer’s through our peer-reviewed research grant program that has invested over $385 million in more than 2,500 scientific investigations since 1982. In 2015, the Alzheimer’s Association granted $8 million to San Diego researchers.
• We bring researchers together worldwide to advance scientific data sharing through GAAIN, the Global Alzheimer’s Association International Network, a first-of-its-kind database with advanced analytical tools to accelerate discoveries.
• Our scientific journal, Alzheimer’s & Dementia®, provides a single publication for the global scientific community to share its diverse knowledge.
• Our annual Alzheimer’s Association International Conference® (AAIC)® is the world’s largest conference of its kind, bringing researchers together to report on groundbreaking studies.

Advocacy:

• We advocate for the needs and rights of people facing Alzheimer’s. The Association is the leading voice encouraging Alzheimer’s disease research, prevention and care initiatives at the state and federal level.
• Each year, our advocates participate in our annual Alzheimer’s Association Advocacy Forum, and a march on Capitol Hill to meet with elected representatives.
• We advance commitment to Alzheimer’s funding from the federal government. In 2015, the Association helped secure a historic $350 million increase for Alzheimer’s disease research funding.
• We secure quality health care services for those affected. We were instrumental in a 2016 decision by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to ensure that people with Alzheimer’s will have access to care planning with a medical professional.
• We develop policy resources, including Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, to educate decision makers on the economic and emotional toll that Alzheimer’s takes on families and the nation.

Intrigued? If you’re interested in getting involved with activities and volunteering for a local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, check out one of these opportunities:

• Consider nominating someone for our Advisory Board.
• Start a team for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s®, the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s disease care, support and research.
• Start a team for The Longest Day®. Honor the strength, heart and endurance of those facing Alzheimer’s with a day of activity on June 21, the summer solstice.
• Become an advocate. Advocate for those affected by Alzheimer’s and urge legislators make the disease a national priority.
• Make a donation.

Join us! Visit our website https://alz.org/sandiego to volunteer for any of these activities and help us help others.

Thank you to  Jeffree Itrich, Alzheimer’s Association San Diego / Imperial Valley Chapter for this guest post. Corporate Giving Partnerships works with companies to identify meaningful volunteerism opportunities with nonprofit organizations such as and including the Alzheimer’s Association. If you are interested to learn more, contact us  to learn about the positive impact volunteerism can have on your culture, your business growth, and employee engagement. #alzheimer #volunteering #corporatevolunteering