Highlights
of Our Work
1982:
The
Society publishes and distributes more than 12,000 copies
of its new 50-page Family Information Handbook on
Alzheimer's disease and caregiving.
The
Society holds its first Canada-wide Alzheimer Awareness
Week in November to raise public awareness of Alzheimer's disease.
1983:
Radio
and television commercials are created for Alzheimer
Awareness Week with Jean Béliveau of the Montreal
Canadiens as celebrity spokesperson. An awareness brochure,
information sheet and quiz are also distributed across
Canada.
1987:
The annual Alzheimer Awareness campaign shifts
from November to January, providing an opportunity to significantly
expand the campaign by garnering thousands of dollars worth
of free air time on radio and television. Magazine and
transit shelter ads are used for the first time.
Jim
Burns, "the boy from Cape Breton," raises $41,000
for Alzheimer's disease research during his run across
Canada.
1989:
The
Society holds its first annual Research Grants and Awards
Competition, with three categories of research awards:
Research Grants, Career Scientist Awards and Training Awards
(Doctoral and Post-Doctoral Awards). It establishes a peer
review process with separate research review panels for
biomedical research and caregiving research.
1991:
15,000
copies of Alzheimer Disease : A Handbook for Care are
shipped across the country in the first six months of distribution.
1992:
The
Society publishes the Guidelines for Care, a set
of nationwide standards and guidelines for Alzheimer caregiving.
Copies are requested from as far afield as China, France,
Italy, South Africa, Australia and the United States.
Maurice
Dionne, member of Parliament for Miramichi, New Brunswick,
holds a press conference to announce that he has Alzheimer's disease and will not seek re-election. This public announcement
creates a flood of mail and calls to all levels of the
Alzheimer Society and helps diminish stereotypes about
Alzheimer's disease.
1993:
The
Society produces Alzheimer Disease : Care at Home,
a set of seven videos, workbook and instructor's manual,
as a training resource for Alzheimer home support workers.
The
Society hosts the 9th Alzheimer's Disease International
conference in Toronto.
The
first support group for people with Alzheimer's disease
is formed.
1994:
The
Society publishes Just for You, its first publication
specifically for people with Alzheimer's disease.
1995:
The
Alzheimer Society and the RCMP join forces to create the Alzheimer
Wandering Registry (changed in 2003 to Safely Home™ --
Alzheimer Wandering Registry) to help people with Alzheimer's disease who are lost return home safely.
1996:
Brothers
Greg, Ross and Keith Neil cycle across Canada, "Riding
for Hope," to raise awareness of Alzheimer's disease
and honour their mother, Barbara, who has the disease.
Society
representatives meet with federal policy makers in Ottawa
to discuss critical Alzheimer issues at the first Public
Policy Forum.
On
September 20, 1996, the first nationwide Alzheimer Society
fundraiser, Alzheimer Coffee Break™, is held
coast to coast with 7,500 coffee breaks raising more
than $275,000.
The
Society allocates more than $1 million in research funding
for the first time.
1997:
The
Society issues a set of Ethical Guidelines, the
first document of its kind in Canada to address the ethics
of Alzheimer care.
The
Society launches its website, www.alzheimer.ca, a bilingual
source of information on Alzheimer's disease, care and
the work of the Society.
1998:
The
Alzheimer Society issues, for the first time, a list of
10 warning signs of Alzheimer's disease and publishes two
related booklets: Is It Alzheimer Disease ? 10 Warning
Signs and Getting A Diagnosis: Finding Out If It
Is Alzheimer Disease.
1999:
Caregiver
stress is the focus of this year's Alzheimer Awareness
Campaign. New brochures help caregivers recognize the signs
of stress and offers ways to deal with it.
2000:
The
impending crisis of Alzheimer's disease on 10 million aging
baby boomers marks the Alzheimer Awareness Campaign for
the new millennium.
The
Alzheimer Society of Canada co-hosts World Alzheimer
Congress 2000 in Washington, D.C. with Alzheimer's Disease
International and the Alzheimer's Association of the
U.S.
2001:
Thanks
to earlier diagnosis and the introduction of medications
to treat symptoms of Alzheimer's disease in the early stages,
the Alzheimer Society begins, for the first time, to create
educational material for people with Alzheimer's disease.
This marks a departure from previous education efforts
directed primarily at caregivers and families.
The
Society develops a new section of its website, I
Have Alzheimer's Disease, for people with the disease.
Towards
the end of the year, focus groups of people with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias are held across Canada
to help the Society develop additional material that
meets this group's needs.
The
Society allocates more than $2 million in research funding
for the first time.
2002:
With
input from people with dementia through the focus groups
held in 2001, the Alzheimer Society of Canada develops
a new booklet and audiotape, Shared Experiences: Suggestions
for those with Alzheimer's disease. The I Have Alzheimer's
Disease section of the website expands with this new
information.
This
year, the Society responded to over 900,000 requests
from the public for information on Alzheimer's disease.
2003:
The
programs and services of the Alzheimer Society across the
country are the focus of this year's Alzheimer Awareness
Campaign. The aim is to encourage people to contact their
local Society for help.
Coffee Break, the Society's annual fundraiser, raises over $1 million nationwide to help provide programs and services to people affected by Alzheimer's disease.
The
Society is a leading funder of Alzheimer research in
Canada and offered $3.4 million in grants and awards
this year.
2004:
This year there are more than 85 Early Stage
Alzheimer Support Groups across Canada offering information
and peer support to people with the disease. These groups
are lifelines for those with the disease.
The
national website, now in its eighth year, receives almost
1 million page requests for the final quarter of 2004.
An expanded Message Board is added to the site. Its online
discussion forums offer another way for family caregivers,
people with the disease and health-care professionals
to support and learn from each other.
The
Society produced 1 million informational pieces (guidelines,
information sheets, pamphlets, etc.) to educate the public
on Alzheimer's disease.
2005:
The Society launches a two-year Awareness Campaign entitled "The Story is Changing." The campaign focuses on progress in caring, treatments, research and understanding of Alzheimer's disease.
Safely Home™ -- Alzheimer Wandering Registry celebrates 10 years in the community. New resources are added to the program including a training DVD for police and search & rescue personnel, and a pre-plan resource for long-term care facilities to assist them in the event a resident gets lost.
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