Dear Francisco,
It gives me great pleasure to introduce you to Nancy Bercaw, whom I had the pleasure of meeting a couple of weeks ago. Nancy has been passionate about the problem of AD, has been an eloquent spokesperson when it comes to the perspective of the family caregiver, and indeed has had a lovely NY Times article and an ongoing blog as platforms.
Nancy was extremely moved by the plight of the families in Antioquia, and asked how she might help. I indicated that we would love to find ways to help the families, and that a particular priority for me was for us to figure out a way to provide diapers to the ~100 families dealing with incontinence.
In no time at all, Nancy raised $1,000 and has begun to explore options with diaper manufacturers and distributors. Ultimately, there will be a need to distribute funds or diapers to a non-profit (in the US, we call it a 501c3) organization. I indicated that the Banner Alzheimer’s Foundation could provide a pass through (simply serving that role with all the proceeds coming to you and the Forget Me Not Foundation in the most appropriate way, which would be great for all of u
s) or they could go directly to the Forget Me Not Foundation itself.
Nancy would like to explore ways to transfer the funds even as she works on our discussions with diaper companies. We are thrilled to have her working with us.
As always, let me know how I can help. Once again, we were extremely moved to meet, work with and help the third group of families who just met with us, and we look forward to meeting with the fourth group soon.
I am also copying Yakeel and Gaby, so they are aware of this nice opportunity.
Nancy, Once again, thank you for your passion and efforts! We really appreciate it!
With warm regards,
Eric
Eric M. Reiman, M.D.
Executive Director, Banner Alzheimer’s Institute & CEO, Banner Research
Clinical Director, Neurogenomics Division, Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen)
Professor of Psychiatry, University of Arizona
Director, Arizona Alzheimer’s Consortium
dryland.co 