Join us — and bring your friends — for a special event to kick off The Longest Day 2022 and learn more about how you can join the fight against Alzheimer’s and all other dementia. 

Whether you are a veteran of The Longest Day or you simply want to figure out what it is all about, our Kickoff Party is the place to be on Tuesday, February 8 from 6:00-7:00 PM! This won’t be your normal virtual meet up. 

Come prepared to…

• get your creative juices flowing by hearing from other fundraisers who have found cool ways to go virtual and stay safe with The Longest Day 
• become equipped with valuable resources for your fight to end Alzheimer’s
• brainstorm with fellow participants on ways to plan, promote, and fundraise your The Longest Day idea

And to sweeten the deal, all attendees will be entered to win a Bag O’ Swag! Who doesn’t love free swag, right?

RSVP for our Feb. 8th Kickoff Party here.

Registrants will be sent conferencing details prior to the date of the Kickoff Party!

We hope to see you on screen then!

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The day with the most light is the day we fight! On The Longest Day, thousands of participants from across the world will come together to fight the darkness of Alzheimer’s through an activity of their choice. Together, they will use their creativity and passion to raise funds and awareness for the care, support and research efforts of the Alzheimer’s Association®. Whether participating at home, online or in-person, we have plenty of fun ideas to engage family and friends in The Longest Day. Join the fun today!

Meta Adler, Catherine Cooper and Missy Kolgaklis Taylor join the Alzheimer’s Association^® as the 2022 Event Chairs for Dancing Stars of Coastal Georgia.

“I have been involved with Dancing Stars since 2017 when I danced and have served as co-chair for the event for 2018, 2019, and 2021”, added Meta Adler. “I volunteer for the Alzheimer’s Association in remembrance of my Grandfather, Leopold Adler II, who suffered from the disease and for all others affected by Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia”, added Adler.

Dancing Stars of Coastal Georgia is an event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research programs. So far, 10 Coastal Georgia area business leaders and philanthropists have committed to the 2022 Cast.  The cast reveal will take place in January.

“I continue to support the Alzheimer’s Association because of their mission and commitment to finding a cure and providing immediate relief for families”, added Catherine Cooper. “Each year, I see how our efforts truly make a difference in people’s lives.  My family has been directly impacted by the effects of Alzheimer’s, so it has always been a special cause that means a lot to me”, added Cooper.

Dancing Stars of Coastal Georgia will take place on Saturday, May 21, 2022at the Savannah Convention Center in Coastal Georgia. In 2021, due to COVID-19 restrictions, Dancing Stars of Coastal Georgia went virtual with a past Dancing Stars of Coastal Georgia remembrance and raised more than $69,000.

“I danced for the Alzheimer’s Association’s Dancing Stars of Coastal Georgia in 2018”, added Missy Kolgaklis Taylor . I danced in remembrance of my grandfather, Paul Barton who passed away from Alzheimer’s and a neighbor who was affected by the disease. I was a committee member in 2019 and a co-chair in 2021. We are looking forward to our in person event in 2022”, added Taylor.

More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease – the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. Additionally, more than 16 million family members and friends provide care to people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. In Georgia alone, there are more than 150,000 people living with the disease and 334,000 caregivers.

“I’m very excited, and honored, to have not only one but three highly experienced 2022 Co-Chairs for Coastal Georgia’s Dancing Stars event”, added Stephen Holland, Dancing Stars of Coastal Georgia event manager.  “They bring such a strong affinity to the noble and worthy mission of the Alzheimer’s Association, and as we approach our 10-year anniversary of Dancing Stars here in Coastal Georgia, 2022 is gearing up to be the best one yet”, added Holland.

For more information about the 2022 Dancing Stars of Coastal Georgia, contact Stephen Holland event director at stholland@alz.org or call 470-636-2556.

To learn more about the Alzheimer’s Association Coastal Georgia area community programs and services, visit alz.org/georgia. 

Reaching our vision of a world without Alzheimer’s is a team effort. The generous support of our sponsors allows us to serve more families and to accelerate research toward methods of treatment, prevention and, ultimately, a cure.

Thank you to all of our 2021 Walk to End Alzheimer’s Sponsors. With their support, we were able to raise over $1.9 million in Georgia.

Interested in becoming a 2022 Walk to End Alzheimer’s Sponsor in Georgia? Contact Amy Richardson at arrichardson@alz.org

Right now in the United States, the cost of care for Alzheimer’s is a quarter of a trillion dollars. Couple that with the fast-growing number of people living with Alzheimer’s, not just today, but over the next several years and it will be a catastrophic situation. This is why funding Alzheimer’s and dementia research is critical in changing this course.

Atlanta couple Heather and Bill ten Broeke understand the financial, physical, and emotional strain of caring for someone with Alzheimer’s. Bill’s father Hank lived with the early stages of Alzheimer’s for several years before he and Bill’s mother Judy moved into Heather and Bill’s home in 2017.  Not long after, in honor of Hank, Heather participated in the 2018 Dancing Stars of Atlanta where she won the coveted People’s Choice Award for raising the most money – over $160,000. Since the event, the ten Broekes have been major sponsors of Dancing Stars of Atlanta, which funds care, support, and research programs for the Alzheimer’s Association.

As Bill’s father’s condition worsened, the family knew that they needed additional support. Heather, Bill, and Judy went through the rigorous and difficult process of trying to find the right caregivers.  Like most people in advanced stages of Alzheimer’s, Hank needed round the clock assistance. Depending on the level needed, the cost of it for people living with Alzheimer’s can approach $100,000 a year for nursing care in a facility.  For families like the ten Broekes, who preferred to have their loved one cared for in their home, it can range from $150,000 to $200,000 a year for 24 hour care. “My Mom had a background in nursing and did an unbelievable job of caring for my father, but at some point, most people with Alzheimer’s will need additional, professional help.  Unfortunately, the vast majority of families out there never anticipated the high cost that they needed to plan for and simply cannot afford it.”  Hank passed away in May 2019.

In addition to the high cost of care, there is a huge challenge with respect to having the number of qualified, compassionate professionals needed to care for Alzheimer’s patients. “Providing care is not always an easy task and it takes a certain type of person to do their job. It is already a difficult situation for the family to see their loved ones going through the disease. Then to add the concern that care is not up to the standards you want, no matter what you spend, makes things much more difficult.”  With this realization, along with the hope to reach a point where other families wouldn’t have to go through what they did, the ten Broeke’s decided to turn their focus to research in order to find a treatment and a cure.

Making a real impact on this disease was the main driver in the ten Broeke’s decision to make a significant research gift from the ten Broeke Family Foundation.  Private Wealth Management firm CIBC, headed by Jack Markwalter, Jr, teamed up with the ten Broekes to support research by the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network Trials Unit (DIAN-TU), in a groundbreaking prevention study. “We want to make the greatest impact with our gift and after talking to the researchers from the DIAN-TU study, we knew this had great promise in the fight against the disease.”

Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer’s Disease (DIAD) is a rare, inherited, typically younger-onset form of Alzheimer’s that is caused by mutations on chromosomes 21, 14 and 1. The mutations play a role in the breakdown of amyloid proteins and the formation of amyloid plaques. DIAN-TU is a clinical trial with a special design that allows the researchers to add or modify investigational treatments in accordance with new findings and, when appropriate, transition to a Phase III trial, potentially saving years in drug testing. DIAN-TU is also primed to implement and test anti-amyloid and anti-tau therapies in combination if data indicate they are promising.

The strategy is to discover drugs that can stop the accumulation of abnormal Tau protein in the brain that is a hallmark of all forms of Alzheimer’s.  The Tau tangles are also associated with other neurodegenerative disorders such as frontotemporal dementia, Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and more.  Being able to develop a treatment that works for those with DIAD could provide the foundation for the development of treatments and prevention for all people at risk of Alzheimer’s including the more traditional form that Hank suffered from.  “We felt that something more was needed to be done to treat or cure this disease because it is not getting better, it is getting worse, and it is a national crisis. We are doing this for future generations and for our children”.

“We are incredibly grateful for the ten Broeke family, added Linda Davidson, Executive Director, Alzheimer’s Association, Georgia Chapter. “Research is our ticket out of this disease and the more dollars donated towards it, the quicker we get to ending it”, added Davidson.

Alzheimer’s Association is the largest non-profit funder of research in the world, with over $250 million to more than 750 projects in 39 countries. To learn more about current Alzheimer’s research, and how you can make an impact, visit https://www.alz.org/research.

Augusta area business leaders Pat Harris and Drew Landrum join the Alzheimer’s Association^® as the 2022 Event Chairs for Dancing Stars of Augusta.  

I am passionate about the devastation that Alzheimer’s is having on friends, co-workers, and my family”, added Pat Harris. “Being able to unite with the leader for the cure and the largest provider of support for people living with the disease and caregivers via the art of dance is both inspiring and fun! I humbly step up to the plate for 2022 co-chair of the great Dancing Stars of Augusta, Harris added.

Dancing Stars of Augusta is an event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research programs.

“Dancing Stars of Augusta is one of the richest events I have ever been a part of, unapologetically standing on the commitment to eradicate Alzheimer’s”, added Drew Landrum. It is both my privilege and honor to co-Chair the 2022 event”, added Landrum.

“With Drew and Pat serving as co-chairs, we have two people who are passionate about helping those living with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, as well as their caregivers”, added Marah Johnson, Alzheimer’s Association, Georgia Chapter. “I know their passion(and our amazing committee’s passion) will translate into selecting a dynamite cast of stars who will raise funds and awareness to help provide 24/7 care and support and advance research toward methods of prevention, treatment and ultimately, a cure”, Johnson added.

More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease – the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. Additionally, more than 16 million family members and friends provide care to people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. In Georgia alone, there are more than 150,000 people living with the disease and 334,000 caregivers.

To learn more about the 2022 Dancing Stars of Augusta, contact Marah Johnson event director at majohnson@alz.org or call 706.860.4996

To learn more about the Alzheimer’s Association Augusta area community programs and services, visit alz.org/georgia.