Are You Ready for Some Football?!

Have a Pie and Help Our Cause

The Alpha Chi chapter of Alpha Zeta Beta is holding a fundraiser for The Glenner Memory Care Centers today at Marie Callendar's in Carmel Mountain Ranch. The restaurant is located just east of the Carmel Mountain Road exit on I-15.

All day long the restaurant will donate 20% of proceeds to our programs and services, but you must tell them you're part of the Glenner fundraiser.

Please help us while having a great meal and a great time.

Rockin' 'n' Rollin' at Kearny Mesa

The staff and residents of Kearny Mesa Convalescent Hospital and Nursing Home today held a "Rock 'n' Roll Jamboree" to help raise funds for The George G. Glenner Alzheimer's Family Centers. And what a great time we all had!

There were several ways for the group to reach their $1,000 goal, from selling singing telegrams and grabbing hearts to going the distance in their rockers and wheelchairs (thus, rock 'n' roll). In fact, they were lined up all the way down the hall when we arrived this morning. The halls and gathering places were festooned with Valentine's Day decorations to make the event extra special.

We want to thank the good folks at Kearny Mesa for helping support our programs through this unique benefit. We'll keep you posted on whether they meet their goal. Last year they raised $1,000 too!

How the Glenner Centers Are Different

Last week we visited merchants in Coronado to help build great packages for our silent auction next April. Many shop owners were delighted to help us, recognizing how our organization benefits families (and customers and employees) their community. Some, however, confused us with the Alzheimer’s Association, so we thought we’d clarify how we’re different.

The non-profit George G. Glenner Alzheimer’s Family Centers are 100% local and primarily provide adult day health care services for those with Alzheimer’s, dementia and other memory impairments. We also provide support for caregivers so they can continue to work and/or stay healthy, which then allows their loved one to remain at home. This includes weekly support groups, referrals, case management, family education and, when needed, crisis intervention. Often, the Glenner Alzheimer’s Family Center is the best solution (or transition) between living independently and moving to a skilled nursing facility. Every penny of our fundraisers remains in San Diego County.

The Alzheimer’s Association is a national organization dedicated to finding preventions, treatments, and eventually, a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. Its contributions to our national awareness of this most common form of dementia have helped families worldwide better understand the disease and current treatments. The San Diego/Imperial Chapter assists families locally through research, education and care and support for all affected.

The San Diego/Imperial Alzheimer’s Association chapter is credited with creating the region’s first Alzheimer’s support group after it was established in 1980. Our founders, George G. and Joy Glenner, created the nation’s first dementia-specific adult day care health service right here in San Diego in 1982. Both organizations over the years have helped San Diegans better understand and better cope with the stress of caring for someone who is losing their memory.

As mentioned at the start of this post, we’re currently seeking silent auction items for next year’s signature event in April. If you would like to donate, please contact us at 619-543-4700 or you can email asaita[at]glenner.org.

A Postcard-Perfect Evening

This past Saturday 200 guests helped us raise money for some of the 90,000 San Diego County families affected by Alzheimer's and other dementia at our annual signature event, "Postcards from the Pacific: Oceans of Memories." This year was a bit different in that we moved outdoors to the Scripps Seaside Forum in La Jolla. A more beautiful venue there isn't.

We've put up a slideshow on our Special Events page. Thanks to our sponsors, auction donors and many volunteers, not to mention the generosity of all those attendees who made the evening a memorable event.

Amy and Joan's Big Adventure

This weekend Glenner Alzheimer’s Family Centers Board of Directors’ Amy Abrams and Joan (Kallin) Tincher will be running the Fargo Marathon and Half Marathon. The pair will raise both awareness of Alzheimer’s disease and funds for our San Diego County centers.

The two veteran runners set a goal of $786, based on $20 per mile for a combined 39.3 miles. Amy will be running her 12th marathon, while Joan is entered in the half marathon along the same course. As of today, they’ve raised more than $1,200!

“Within a week of setting up the Firstgiving fundraising page, the donations started coming in and they’ve just kept coming. We didn’t realize how generous people would be,” said Amy, who is Vice President of Client Services for Elder Care Guides.

In addition to her financial goal, Amy hopes to finish Sunday’s marathon in 4:27 minutes – a figure as unique as her original fundraising target. This also is her 11th state in a quest to run a marathon in all 50 states. Joan is a longtime runner who continues to post impressive times – including, most recently, first place in her age group - in area races.

Regardless of how well they do in what at the moment is looking like very warm, windy conditions, both Amy and Joan, a geriatric nurse practitioner and case manager for Health Care Group, will certainly get some attention.

Both will be wearing “Run Naked” reflective apparel. And the back of their shirts will read: “Marathons are hard. Alzheimer’s is harder.”

Good luck to both of you on Sunday!

Send Us Some Goodness ... Very Soon

The George G. Glenner Alzheimer’s Family Centers has been nominated as a favorite charity on the Show Us Your Goodness web site, sponsored by snack maker riceworks. Numerous people, from former board members to current caregivers, are joining in to help our organization become a semi-finalist for the People’s Pick. Grand prize for the eventual winner is $20,000.

Click here to learn more about how you too can nominate Glenner as your favorite charity. All nominations due by Sunday, February 28, so don’t wait!

Here’s info on nominations from the Web site:
1. To nominate your favorite charity, simply tell us the name and a few details on what you find most inspiring. Click the nominate button on the right that takes you to a short nomination form.
2. From all nominations received, thirty-three (33) charities will be chosen as Semi-Finalists by a panel of riceworks® judges.
Starting March 16, 2010, we'll remind everybody to return here to vote the "People's Pick" Award from one of these thirty-three (33) Semi-Finalists. The decision for the Grand Prize winner and two Finalists will be based on final agreement by six independent judges, based on the judging criteria.
The Grand Prize Charity winner receives $20,000 and the two Finalists receive $5,000 each. And each of the 30 winning charities for the "Sponsor's Choice" award receives $1,000.
3. Bonus! For submitting your charity's winning story, the nominators of the three top Finalists will win $100 worth of riceworks® products! So nominate now.