Georgetown Non-Profit Receives Coveted Grant from Alzheimer’s Association Poises itself to Serve Forgotten Sufferers

It’s a devastating and largely unknown fact that caring for a loved one who has Alzheimer’s is so difficult and demanding that 20% of caregivers will die before their loved one who is diagnosed with the disease does. They are the forgotten victims of this cruel illness. 

A Gift of Time has been awarded $164,000 from the Alzheimer’s Association Center to fund more dementia-specific respite care.

A Gift of Time’s respite care is a safe, friendly environment staffed by industry professionals and skilled volunteers who care for people suffering from mild to moderate Alzheimer’s for several hours. The service offers a much-needed break for spouses and family members who often feel trapped by the burden of caring for their loved-one full time. They can run errands, visit friends, or just be alone and take a much-needed nap during those precious hours. They can do so with peace of mind, knowing their loved one is receiving compassionate professional care, free of charge. 

A Gift of Time is one of only 20 recipients chosen from nearly 200 applicants nationwide to receive grant funding. The funds will be used to expand its support of individuals living with Alzheimer’s and their family care partners.

This is a tremendous honor,” said Peggy Parisi, Board President.  “It communicates strongly that the Alzheimer’s Association recognizes the needs we have here in Georgetown, and their faith in our innovative plans to grow and expand our services. The number of people in Georgetown and Williamson County suffering from dementia is growing and we are committed to serving the family members who care for them. 

CONTACT: Becky Folta-May, Executive Director, A Gift of Time

512-489-0160 

becky@agiftoftimegeorgetown.org

BACKGROUND:

Along with the grant, A Gift of Time will also receive online training and ongoing technical assistance from the Alzheimer’s Association Center for Dementia Respite Innovation (CDRI) to ensure respite services are dementia-capable and support sustainability. The CDRI will also collect data and evaluate the impact of these innovative projects from all grant recipients to inform public policy.

“We congratulate A Gift of Time on its grant and look forward to working with its team to help enhance respite care services for local dementia caregivers,” said Sam Fazio, Ph.D., Senior Director of Psychosocial Research & Quality Care, Alzheimer’s Association. “We intend to gain insights from each respite program we fund, ultimately developing a catalog of programs, tools, and resources that will be easily accessible to interested caregivers and care providers.” 

The Alzheimer’s Association created the CDRI earlier this year after receiving a $25 million grant from the Administration for Community Living (ACL), a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services division. Over the next five years, the CDRI will provide $25 million in grant funding to local respite providers and organizations to enhance the quality and availability of respite care nationwide. Visit alz.org/cdri to see the full list of this year’s grant recipients.

Funding disclosure

This project is supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $32,962,453 with 75 percent funded by ACL/HHS and $8,333,333 amount with 25 percent funded by non-government source(s). The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACL/HHS, or the U.S. Government.

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