Star Power

“Alzheimer’s Disease has ravaged my family. My dad, my aunt and most recently my 65-year-old brother all passed away after years of living with the horrific effects of the disease. I have made it my mission to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s any way I can. I want people to know they are not alone, and there are places to turn for assistance, like the Alzheimer’s Association. Together we need to advocate for additional federal funding, which is sorely lacking. I refuse to believe Alzheimer’s can’t be slowed, stopped or cured.” —Meredith Vieira, journalist, talk show host “Alzheimer’s is exerting a powerful impact on American families; on our health, our finances and our futures. And women are disproportionately impacted. Today nearly two-thirds of those with Alzheimer’s are women and more than 70 percent of Alzheimer’s caregivers are women. Women are the epicenter of this crisis. In partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association, I launched the Wipe Out Alzheimer’s Challenge, a campaign powered by women’s brains. Our mission is to enlist women of all ages to get educated, engaged and empowered to instigate change—to raise the alarm, raise awareness, raise the stakes and raise millions of dollars to fund serious research into women’s brains.” —Maria Shriver, journalist, social activist “After my mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, I felt very alone and that people my age did not understand what Alzheimer’s was, or the true impact of the disease. Once Seth [Rogen] and I started to share our story it became clear that we could create awareness and bring younger voices to the cause, so we created Hilarity for Charity in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association. We’re so proud to fund research and provide care relief grants to families as well as bring a new generation of advocates and philanthropists to the cause. We hope people will check out Hilarity for Charity, but also be vocal advocates. We need to bring this disease out of the shadows in order to push for desperately needed federal funding for care and research programs that have potential to change the course of this disease for future generations.” —Lauren Miller Rogen, filmmaker and co-founder, Hilarity for Charity