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Alzheimer’s Association – September 2025 Member of the Month

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Sept Member of Month

Chamber Spotlight: September Member of the Month

Alzheimer’s Association — Serving Ouachita Parish with Care, Education, and Hope

The West Monroe West Ouachita Chamber is proud to recognize the Alzheimer’s Association as our September Member of the Month—honoring their tireless work to create a world without Alzheimer’s and all other dementiaright here in our region.

Why it matters here

This year, the Association is zeroed in on growing the resources that grow impact—fundraising that fuels program delivery, volunteer training, and the support groups families rely on during every stage of the disease.

Impact in Ouachita Parish — by the numbers

In the last year, the Alzheimer’s Association directly supported 335 neighbors in Ouachita Parish. That care looked like:

  • 272 people attending in-person education
  • 43 participating in online programs
  • 7 reached through in-person awareness events
  • 11 calling the 24/7 Helpline (800-272-3900), with 5 receiving care consultations from the helpline
  • 2 joining virtual support groups

They measure success by growing meaningful engagement. In June 2023 there were 73 local program engagements, 81 in 2024, and 335 in 2025—a leap that signals trust, visibility, and the capacity to train more volunteers and build community-led caregiver support.

Programs families use most

  • Education classes (most-used): easy to access, highly visible, and practical.
  • Support groups: steadily expanding as trained facilitators and consistent schedules come online.
  • Care consultations via the 24/7 Helpline (800-272-3900): expert guidance in moments that matter.

New this fall: the team hopes to launch a “Coffee with Caregivers” education & support group—volunteer facilitatorsare needed and will receive training.

Anytime help: Explore the Association’s Community Resource Finder to locate neurologists, home health, support groups, and more; in urgent situations, call the 24/7 Helpline at 800-272-3900.

Research & advocacy shaping the future

  • On the horizon: progress in blood biomarker testing and risk-reduction research like the U.S. POINTER study.
  • Policy wins that help locally: Louisiana benefits from federal BOLD funding to build dementia-capable public-health infrastructure statewide, and the legislature approved $824,000 (2025) to launch the Dementia Care Specialist Program, with one position based in Monroe to serve our region.
  • What to champion: the bipartisan AADAPT Act (Accelerating Access to Dementia & Alzheimer’s Provider Training), which would expand virtual training for primary-care providers so more families receive timely diagnosis and informed care close to home. See:

Walk to End Alzheimer’s: more than a day

Walk dollars power local education, support groups, care consultations, and volunteer training—and also advance national research and care initiatives. Just as important, Walk builds a visible circle of support:

“After my first Walk, I was amazed how many people show up for a common cause, willing to share their very personal story… People see the passion—and it changes them.”
— Nate Trisler, Century Next Bank

“The outpouring of people was amazing—especially incorporating our downtown!”
— Linda Southwell, St. Francis Hospital

“When huge numbers of one family show up—from toddlers to great-grandparents—and return the next year with even more… it grows memories and meaning for the whole community.”
— Judy Hilton, Paramount Healthcare Consultants

How Chamber members can partner this year

  • Be a dementia-friendly workplace: offer lunch-and-learns, add caregiver-friendly policies (flex scheduling, EAP info), train people managers on communication strategies, and share the 24/7 Helpline internally.
  • Collaborate creatively: host lunch-and-learns, sponsor education classes, join the Walk Planning Committee, or provide event-day volunteers for setup/teardown and participant support.
  • Support program growth: help recruit and train support-group facilitators and Community Educators to expand consistent, neighborhood-level offerings.

If you have 2 hours, 2 days, or $2,000

  • 2 hours: volunteer at a class or Walk shift; share Association posts on your company’s social channels; invite staff to a micro-training.
  • 2 days: host a workplace lunch-and-learn and a caregiver resource drive; offer meeting space for a recurring support group; enroll managers in dementia-communication training.
  • $2,000: sponsor an education series or support group for a year; launch an in-store “Point-of-Purchase Flowers” fundraiser; match employee Walk donations.

Take the next step

On behalf of our business community, congratulations to the Alzheimer’s Association—our September Member of the Month. Thank you for bringing compassion, credible information, and connection to the families of Ouachita Parish.

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