alzcny.org/news

Yesterday was one of the biggest days of the year at the Chapter. Our annual Facts & Figures report garners media attention from throughout the 14 counties and is a catalyst in motivating people for our cause. Here’s a rundown of newspaper articles and television reports from yesterday:

• WSYR-TV (Syracuse), which focused on Clay caregiver Tami Schanbacher.
• Syracuse.com/Post-Standard (Syracuse), which featured the report in its news and health sections
• The Observer-Dispatch (Utica), which had a lengthy article feature an interview with Saquoit caregiver Patrick Inserra.
• WKTV-TV (Utica), which featured Janice Durant, a caregiver from Oneida Castle. WKTV is a member of the Alzheimer’s Early Detetction Alliance and reporter/anchor Megan Koskovich is a member of our event planning committees.
• WWNY-TV (Watertown), which featured Limerick caregiver Yvonne Thompson and her husband Cecil. WWNY is also an AEDA member and news anchors Brian Ashley and Anne Richter-Ashley are longtime friends of the Chapter.
• News10Now (CNY), which reported the statistics.
• WAER-FM (Syracuse) conducted an interview with Tully caregiver and Chapter volunteer Kris Terrillion.
• The Ithaca Journal and The Press Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton) ran articles summarizing the statistics and the disease impact on the Southern Tier community.

WRVO-FM also taped a lengthy feature with Chapter CEO Catherine James and a 54-year-old Syracuse woman living with Alzheimer’s that will run this week.

We also put the call out to GO PURPLE! on March 9 and are pleased to see as many people as we did wearing purple in support of the cause, as our friends at WKTV and WWNY did. We are also pleased to report that more than 75 people became our friends on Facebook yesterday, a trend we are looking to continue over the coming weeks. If you are on Facebook and haven’t done so already, become a fan of our page. Once you become our friend, make sure to invite your Facebook friends to become part of the cause.

So many of our friends joined us for our first benefit night at the Syracuse Crunch last spring that we wanted to repeat the occasion in 2010!

Make plans to join us on Saturday, March 13 at 7:30 p.m. as the Crunch take on the Amerks, their AHL rivals from Rochester. Tickets are $15 with special ticket packages available. A 10-ticket pack is $140 and includes scoreboard recognition, while 20 tickets are $260 and include scoreboard recognition and a game program insert. A portion of the ticket cost will be donated to the Alzheimer’s Association, Central New York Chapter.

We will also have a table on the concourse, where we will sell raffle tickets and distribute information. Let’s pack our section in 2010!

To be part of our section, you can’t just buy tickets at the window or online. You must contact the Syracuse Crunch at (315) 473-4444 x25 to place your order. Your tickets will be mailed directly to you. Remember to mention that you are part of the Alzheimer’s Association’s group!

We’re lucky to have a great photographer in Meghan Thomas, who assists us in capturing moments from our events. We’ve posted some of Meghan’s photos from our December open house, which included the ribbon cutting for the renovated Day Program kitchen.

This entire project started with a basic need–better tools for food preparation for the participants of the Kirkpatrick Day Program–and grew to a multi-day renovation. The December event was the icing on the cake.

Take a look back in time with us at the progression of the project:

• Kitchen Renovation Update
• The Calm Before the Storm
• Thursday Morning Renovation Update
• Thursday Afternoon Update
• Friday Morning Update
• Friday Midday Update
• Late Friday Update
• Saturday Update
• Before and After…
• Renno Wrapup
• Cutting the ribbon (with video)

Each August, the Cowden family comes together and celebrates the life of their family patriarch with a golf tournament. Since its inception in 2004, the tournament — organized by brothers Michael and Jerry Cowden — has raised nearly $100,000 for research and local programs.

Just before Christmas,  the Cowden family announced that the tournament’s final tally for 2009 was $25,000. At right, Chapter CEO Cathy James accepts the proceeds from Jerry Cowden.

Learn more about the tournament, its namesake and ways to get involved at the tournament’s official website.

We’ve had a location change on our Skaneateles support group. Please make a note of the following:

Peregrine Home Care Services
1551 East Genesee St.
1st Wednesday, 6 p.m.
Chapter Staff: (315) 472-4201

It’s been a couple of weeks since we checked in last with our Memory Walk totals. We are pleased to report that we have topped the $328,000 mark as of Tuesday. This is the best Memory Walk season the Central New York Chapter has ever had and the third consecutive year that we’ve broken our own fundraising record. Each individual walk smashed its own records

Mohawk Valley: $43,500
St. Lawrence: $33,300
Jefferson-Lewis: $57,300
Southern Tier: $72,750
Greater Syracuse: $121,500

The hard work of our committees and walkers continues to pay off. We plan to close our online fundraising sites on October 30 at 3 p.m., so get any last minute funds posted so that they will be counted!

The Alzheimer’s Association, Central New York Chapter is the newest beneficiary of the Syracuse Auto Dealers Association’s Charity Preview. This annual event is one of the area’s most exclusive events, raising thousands of dollars for local non-profit organizations. The preview brings together fine food and great music with a sneak peak of the Syracuse Auto Expo.

The 2010 Charity Preview takes place from 6:30-1o p.m. on February 10, 2009 at the OnCenter Complex in Syracuse.

Tickets are on sale NOW! You can purchase individual tickets or corporate ticket packages from the Chapter.The easiest way is to download the special order form and submit it directly to SADA (Remember to select the Alzheimer’s Association, Central New York Chapter as the benefiting charity!). If you would like the form mailed or faxed to you, contact Toni Ann Daley, chief development officer, at our Chapter Office. She can be reached by phone (315-472-4201 or 800-272-3900 x109) or e-mail.

AND, make sure to visit our special Charity Preview page at alzcny.org!

We’re happy to share coverage of Saturday’s Memory Walk:

• News10Now
• The Post-Standard

Just because walk is over does not mean the money stops coming in. Between matching gifts, mail-in donations and visitors to our website, we continue to raise funds for each and every walk.

Through Noon on Saturday, here is where we stand for each walk:

• Mohawk Valley: $42,940
• St. Lawrence: $33,117
• Jeff-Lewis: $54,512
• Southern Tier: $69,82
• Greater Syracuse: $117,330

All said and done, the Central New York Chapter had its most successful Memory Walk season ever — $317,720.

We will keep updating you over the next couple of weeks on how we stand. Remember, donations dated through October 31 will count towards this year’s walks!

On behalf of the Central New York Chapter staff, we thank each and every one of you for time and support.

We’ve tried to keep you in the loop from each walk site on our Twitter account. Today, that just wasn’t possible. We needed every available hand to work with the more than 800 walkers that packed the Inner Harbor at this year’s walk — our 19th annual event in Syracuse.

The walk set a new fundraising record in ‘09, topping last year’s total. With funds still coming in online, we currently stand at $117,320.

Today’s walk was dedicated in memory of Bob Davidson. Bob passed away on September 2. He was a caregiver for his wife Helen, who died from Alzheimer’s in March. Bob was also the team captain for The Gang, a group of support group members from our bi-weekly meeting at The Hearth at James. The Gang was the top fundraising family and friends team, amassing $9,675.

Other award winners included:

• Top fundraising youth: Emily Salenger, Team Salenger, $540.
• Top fundraising adult: Betty Sutliff, $2,510.
• Top fundraising adult, runner-up: Penny Mulligan, $2,420.
• Top fundraising team, health-related: Loretto, $5,088.
• Top fundraising team, corporate: Lockheed Martin: $5,325.