Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Foundations Awarded at Alzheimer’s Association International Conference® for Supporting Global Advancement of Alzheimer’s Research

Jul 20, 2015 6:00 PM ET
Campaign: Awards & Recognition
Dennis White (left), President & CEO of MetLife Foundation and Stewart Putnam (right), Chair, Alzheimer's Association National Board of Directors.

WASHINGTON, July 20, 2015 /3BL Media/ – 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 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 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 presented during the AAIC 2015 opening session on Sunday, July 19. Accepting the award for MetLife Foundation was A. Dennis White, president and chief executive officer, and for GHR Foundation was Fred Miller, strategic consultant, health.

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 and 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.

The Alzheimer’s Association is committed to accelerating the global effort to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease and to recognizing the efforts of researchers who further our understanding about this devastating disease. The Association is the largest nonprofit funder of Alzheimer’s research. It currently supports nearly 350 ongoing research projects in 21 countries, totaling over $78 million. Since 1982, it has awarded nearly $340 million to almost 2,300 scientific investigations.

About AAIC
The Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) is the largest gathering of leading researchers from around the world focused on Alzheimer’s and other dementias. As a part of the Alzheimer’s Association’s research program, AAIC serves as a catalyst for generating new knowledge about dementia and fostering a vital, collegial research community.

AAIC 2015 home page: www.alz.org/aaic/

AAIC 2015 newsroom: www.alz.org/aaic/press.asp

About the Alzheimer’s Association®
The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer's care, support and research. Our mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research, to provide and enhance care and support for all affected, and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer’s. Visit alz.org or call 800.272.3900.

MetLife Logo