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The Family Caregiver Alliance recently chose to profile AFA Teens as the key feature on its Web site.
In a question-and-answer format, AFA Teens staff answered questions about the division, the background about its founding, major accomplishments and its impact on the community.
To read the interview, click here.
AFA Teens was recently named a recipient of the prestigious Rosalinde Gilbert Innovations in Alzheimer’s Disease Caregiving Legacy Award.
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation and the Family Caregiver Alliance are presenting the awards of $20,000 each to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America and three other nonprofit organizations in recognition of programs that “exemplify outstanding service and innovative strategies in serving individuals with Alzheimer's and their caregivers.” They selected AFA Teens in the category of diverse and multicultural communities.
“Receiving this award reinforces the value of programming for this age group. We are committed to serving this often overlooked population, many of whom are devoted caregivers themselves,” said Eric J. Hall, AFA’s president and chief executive officer.
Fellow recipients of the award are: Songwriting Works Educational Foundation, Port Townsend, WA, Alzheimer’s Association California Southland Chapter, Los Angeles, CA, and Mountain Projects, Inc., Waynesville, NC.
On October 6, Katherine Henley of Phoenix, the 2010 AFA Teens for Alzheimer’s Awareness College Scholarship winner, spoke at a briefing held by the USAgainstAlzheimer’s in Washington D.C. Before 75 attendees, the Colorado State University student shared her experience in coping with the loss of her father to young onset Alzheimer’s disease, a rarer form of the disease that affects individuals in their 30s, 40s and 50s. Her father was diagnosed at age 41 and passed away three years later.
USAgainstAlzheimer’s is a new campaign to mobilize Americans to stop Alzheimer’s disease by 2020, and the briefing was held to urge lawmakers to commit additional funding for research as part of a disciplined strategy to meet its goal. In addition to Henley, the speakers were Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor (Ret.), Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Nobel Prize winner Stan Prusine.
In her heartfelt address, Henley said, “The face of Alzheimer’s disease is changing. It’s becoming more and more prominent in younger families. To most, my family’s experience with Alzheimer’s disease is tragic but novel. Assumptions that Alzheimer’s disease is only affecting older generations is completely wrong. It can and does affect younger generations like my father and my uncle. Something needs to be done with Alzheimer’s research and it needs to be done now, or otherwise stories like mine won’t be so novel anymore.”
To read Henley’s winning essay, click here.
A camp that uniquely caters to children and teens whose parents or grandparents are living with dementia will be open this summer in Wisconsin. The program offers traditional camping activities, as well as the opportunity to become more educated about Alzheimer’s disease and related illnesses.
“Time for Us: Summer Camp for Teens” is designed for children and teens--ages nine to 16—who have a relative with memory loss. It is sponsored by Alzheimer’s & Dementia Alliance of Wisconsin and for Memory, a network of persons affected by early memory challenges. While the week is filled with activities such as ropes challenge, canoeing and field sports, there will also be educational programs related to Alzheimer’s disease. Campers will learn new coping skills, gain peer support and foster new relationships with teens in similar situations. In addition, in conjunction with AFA Teens, camp participants will be composing poems, songs, artwork and other creative works to post on the AFA Teens Web site as a means of expressing themselves and encouraging other teens to do the same.
Time for Us will run from August 8-13, 2010 at the Lutherdale Adventure Camp in Elkhorn, WI. Scholarships are available. Click here to download a registration form.
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AFA Teens Advisory Board member Natalie Innocenzi of Arcadia, CA was named the 92nd Rose Queen by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses on October 20.
Eric J. Hall, AFA’s president and CEO, extended his warmest congratulations to Natalie.
“Natalie has an enormous heart and community spirit. Her community involvement to further the cause of Alzheimer’s disease has been extremely commendable,” Hall said. |
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As part of her efforts with AFA Teens, the California teenager led an Alzheimer’s Awareness week at her school, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, last winter that included planting forget-me-knot seeds in the school garden and an educational assembly for all her classmates.
“[My grandmother] is someone I have always looked up to. She has given me the strength to hopefully be able to make a change and increase awareness of Alzheimer's,” said Natalie, 16.
She hopes to give back to the Alzheimer’s community even more when she studies occupational or physical therapy with an emphasis in gerontology in college.
Natalie will be crowned by Tournament of Roses Acting President Jeff Throop at a November 4 coronation ceremony at the Pasadena Convention Center.
The Rose Queen and the six new princesses will attend more than 150 events during the rest of the year, leading up to the 2010 Tournament of Roses Parade on January 1 and the 96 th Rose Bowl Game.
The young ladies were selected based upon a combination of qualities, including public speaking ability, poise, academic achievement and community involvement.
“2010 Rose Queen Natalie Innocenzi and our six princesses are perfect ambassadors for the Tournament of Roses, and the city of Pasadena. They are talented, graceful and stellar examples of what it is to be A Cut Above the Rest,” said Throop. |
AFA Teens Receives Honorable Mention in National Family Caregiving Awards, sponsored by the National Alliance for Caregiving and MetLife Foundation... click here
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