Metlife Foundation, GHR Foundation honored at Alzheimer's Association International Conference
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 research. The foundation has funded Alzheimer's research at the Mayo Clinic for more than three decades. In 2010, it formed a relationship with the Alzheimer's Association, funding care and support programs through the Minnesota chapter, and it joined the Alzheimer's Association Zenith Society in 2012 with a gift to advance the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer's Network Trials Unit. This partnership grew in 2013 with a grant to the Alzheimer's Association to support the Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer's Disease Study, a pioneering Alzheimer's prevention trial. With this contribution, GHR fueled the largest research grant ever awarded by the Alzheimer's Association at that time.
"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.
Provided by Alzheimer's Association