"FORGET ME NOT DAYS" TO BENEFIT ALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION
Tuesday, April 29, 2003
Bankers Life and
Casualty Company Springs Into Action for Alzheimer's
Association
-- 50,000 forget-me-not
seed packets to be distributed in 48 hours --
CHICAGO (April 29, 2003) - More than
200 Bankers Life and Casualty Company agents and employees will
take to the streets on May 9-10, 2003 to raise money for the
Alzheimer's Association during the first "Forget Me Not Days." More
than 50,000 forget-me-not seed packets will be distributed on
street corners in eight U.S. cities in an effort to raise money in
the fight against this deadly disease.
Although Bankers has a strong history
of corporate giving, this is the first time its agents and
employees have mobilized in force on a single day for a single
cause. Tagged "Forget Me Not Days" the effort aims to encourage
Americans to plant the seeds in remembrance of the estimated four
million Americans suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
The program launches this year in
Chicago and Palos Hills, Ill., Seattle, Indianapolis, Tacoma,
Wash., Tulsa, Okla., Wausau, Wis., and Charlotte, N.C. Bankers'
sister company Colonial Penn will also do outreach in Philadelphia.
Plans are currently underway to expand Forget Me Not Days to more
than 100 cities next spring.
"We are enormously proud of our
ongoing partnership with the Alzheimer's Association," said Ed
Berube, Bankers president and CEO. "Seniors have a very real and
very deep fear of this tragic disease. In many cases, they fear it
more than death. We want to do our part to help ease the fears of
senior Americans by giving both our time and money. One of the most
important ways we can meet this goal is through our continued
support of the Alzheimer's Association."
The Alzheimer's Association is the
largest private funder of Alzheimer research and the premier source
of information and support for Americans currently living with the
disease. Experts warn that more than 14 million people will have
the disease by 2050 unless effective treatments or preventive
strategies are found. The disease affects about one in 10 people
over the age of 65 and nearly 50 percent of those over 85.
"As a business actively involved with
senior Americans, Bankers Life and Casualty Company understands the
devastation that Alzheimer's has on it's victims and their loved
ones," said Ron Champagne, vice president, development for the
Alzheimer's Association. "Their continued commitment to the
Alzheimer's Association gives hope to the four million Americans
diagnosed with the disease, and the nearly 20 million family
members who love and care for them."
Since awarding its first grants in
1982, the Association has committed more than $136 million toward
research into the causes, treatment, prevention, and cure of
Alzheimer's disease. While supporting the worldwide effort to spare
future generations from the ravages of Alzheimer's disease, the
Association works tirelessly to enhance the quality of life for
affected individuals and their families. Through its national
network of chapters, it offers a broad range of programs and
services for people with the disease, their families, and care
partners.
The Chicago-based Alzheimer's
Association is a tax-exempt, 501c (3) nonprofit organization. All
of its programs and services are made possible through
contributions, large and small, from individuals, corporations, and
foundations.
Bankers serves the needs of seniors
through a broad portfolio of quality, competitive insurance
products including long term care, life, annuities and Medicare
supplement; a national sales force of professionally trained career
agents; and a dedicated group of long tenured, highly capable home
office employees. Under the leadership of the late billionaire
philanthropist John D. MacArthur (of the MacArthur Foundation),
Bankers was among the first insurers to offer specialized products
and services for seniors in the late 1960's.
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