Dear Friends,
CaringKind plays a leading role in providing much-needed support and care for individuals and families affected by Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. To support their needs, we advocate for the advancement of research, we partner with the medical and scientific community and we participate in clinical trials. Our public awareness campaigns and advocacy efforts ensure that elected officials at the local, state and national levels understand the challenges faced by families affected by a dementia diagnosis.
Dementia isn’t just breaking hearts… it is also breaking pocketbooks. We can no longer put off funding programs and services for Alzheimer’s and dementia care.
In spite of the combined efforts of CaringKind and our partners, we know that effective therapies are a long way off. And, while we wait, millions of families are struggling to handle the responsibility of caring for their loved ones. Dementia isn’t just breaking hearts… it is also breaking pocketbooks. **We can no longer put off funding programs and services for Alzheimer’s and dementia care. **
We are proud to report that with the support of friends like you, CaringKind used your contributions in 2019 to provide an exceptional number of programs and services to our clients. Here are some highlights:
- We responded to 8,000 calls on our 24-hour Helpline, the gateway to our services.
Our licensed social workers provided more than 850 counseling sessions. - We educated more than 1,000 caregivers through our learning seminars, covering topics from Legal and Financial Planning to Resources for Long-Term Care. We trained over 500 family and professional caregivers, empowering them with skills and resources to provide the best possible care while easing their own burdens.
- We added more than 1,000 people with dementia to the more than 30,000 already registered in our CaringKind MedicAlert® NYC Wanderer’s Safety Program.
- We hosted 80 ongoing support groups, each facilitated by a trained and supervised professional.
- We trained docents and staff at 18 of NYC’s most prominent cultural institutions, bringing their outstanding resources within reach of our clients and their families.
- We held major conferences focused on care and research, attended by over 500 participants.
- We expanded our national reach, fielding requests for information and training throughout the country. This includes requests for our innovative Palliative Care program, which has become the gold standard for late-stage dementia care.
CaringKind relies on donations from New Yorkers like you to fund our operations and to keep our programs free of charge. Without you, there would be no CaringKind. Every dollar you donate is 100% tax deductible and directly supports our community.
As the year comes to a close, we hope you consider a generous donation to CaringKind so that we can continue to offer our life-changing programs in the year ahead. On behalf of the families we serve, I wish you a healthy, peaceful and productive 2020 and thank you for supporting our work today and into the future.
Sincerely,
Lou-Ellen Barkan, Founding Director