I am delighted to report that for our fiscal year ending
June 30, 2006, we have raised $6 million – a recordbreaking
achievement for the New York City Chapter,
representing a 15% increase over fiscal year 2005. We
have you, our friends and supporters, to thank for making
this Chapter milestone possible.
I would like to take a moment to reflect on what $6
million means, both in terms of our history and our future.
We call New York City the “Capital of the World,” the
place where the concept of a national Alzheimer’s Association
began. In the late 1970s, a group of dedicated New
Yorkers, spearheaded by Lonnie Wollin, a caregiver, and
Dr. Robert Katzman, then head of Neurology at Albert
Einstein Medical Center, began to address the critical
issues facing the Alzheimer’s community. In 1978, the
Alzheimer’s Disease Society, headquartered in NYC, with
a mission national in scope, was founded and incorporated,
with Mr. Wollin serving as president.
Shortly thereafter, Dr. Robert Butler, then head of
the National Institutes of Health (NIH) convened the
Alzheimer’s Disease Society and six grass-roots Alzheimer’s
organizations nationwide. These seven groups provided
the leadership for establishing, in 1980, our National
Alzheimer’s Association. The Alzheimer’s Disease Society,
which pre-dated National, became the NYC Chapter,
and a founding member of the Association. The Chapter,
reincorporated in 1985, started with an operating budget
of $150,000.
With funds privately raised, the NYC Chapter began to
make its presence known – by building public awareness
for Alzheimer’s disease, holding support groups and education
programs, and, through advocacy, drawing attention to
the issues to change legislation. New York City is where
it all began. And, through these many years, the NYC
Chapter has sustained its voice and leadership.
The NYC Chapter has much to be proud of. For
example, our own Jed Levine was the creator of the
forerunner of the Alzheimer’s Association Safe Return® program, now a nationwide identification and registration
program. The Chapter spearheaded programs for
persons with early stage AD, including an annual Early
Stage Forum, designated a White House Conference on Aging
Event in 2005. This year, we distributed a DVD and Early
Stage Conference Workbook to eighty area Chapters
throughout the country as well as to professionals in the
field, hoping that they will find it easier to hold their own
local conferences and events. These two programs are
representative of the work we strive to sustain and grow
in order to address the complex needs of those with AD,
their family members and their caregivers.
Which brings me to the present. Later this year, the
Chapter takes up residence on the 4th floor of 360 Lexington
Avenue, enabling us to dramatically build capacity and grow
our programs to better serve the NYC community.
Our move gives us the opportunity to recognize donors
who make a significant gift and wish to name elements
of our new space, including our new Conference Room,
Training Center, Support Group Rooms, 24-hour Helpline
Call Center, Volunteer Center and Care Consultation
Room. Below is a schematic rendering of our new offices.
I look forward to telling you more about this exciting
project in our next Newsletter. As always, if you would
like further information about our programs and how
you can help to support our work, or if you would like
to know more about Naming Opportunities in our new
offices, please call me directly at 646.744.2905 or cberne@alznyc.org. We thank you for all you do
for us – it truly makes the difference.
— Carol Berne
Vice President for Leadership Giving
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