Pennington Biomedical Research Foundation Kicks Off "Making Memories" Campaign
To Meet Challenge Grant for Dementia Research from Charles Lamar Family
"Making Memories: A Challenge Campaign for Dementia Research " kicked off Tuesday to raise funds for the Institute for Dementia Research & Prevention (IDRP) at Pennington Biomedical Research Center.
The campaign launched in response to a leadership investment of nearly half a million dollars from the Charles Lamar Family. In addition, the Lamar family announced that they are challenging others to support the dementia program. The campaign will raise funds to provide resources for expanding clinical participation for its brain aging study, funding for pilot studies for emerging research, and development of a bioinformatics platform for data analysis.
The IDRP conducts Louisiana’s only brain aging longitudinal research study and is presently the 12th largest in the United States with 1,600 participants from 37 parishes across the state. The institute is attracting pharmaceutical industry-sponsored clinical trials, providing widespread access for the fist time to Louisiana citizens affected by Alzheimer’s disease.
A volunteer committee for the Making Memories campaign, led by Ed Middleton, president and CEO of Citizen Bank & Trust, is initiating the effort to help meet the challenge. "The Charles Lamar family will match other contributions to the IDRP, dollar for dollar, up to $360,000, over the next three years. This is a wonderful opportunity to support important scientific discoveries related to dementia and to know your gift will have twice the impact on dementia research because of the match provided by the Lamar family. Gifts of all sizes are important and appreciated," said Middleton.
"We are on the verge of making landmark discoveries identifying the causes of dementia, identifying novel avenues for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, and most importantly beginning the process of initiating efforts focused on preventing age-related dementias in Louisiana," said Jeffrey Keller, Ph.D., Associate Executive Director for Basic Research and director of the IDRP at Pennington Biomedical.
Joining Middleton on the Making Memories campaign cabinet are Bill Blackwood, Louis Curet, John Graves, Erin Kolb, Susan and Richard Lipsey, Neil Ann Parks, Harold Price, Jim Purgerson, and Chuck Schwing.
The gift from the Charles Lamar Family—Charlie and Carole Lamar, Mary Lee and Bill Dixon and their families— honors the late Josephine Pugh Lamar, who suffered from a form of dementia. She passed away in 1976.
The Pennington Biomedical Research Foundation held a special ceremony recently to honor the Charles Lamar family and recognize the official naming of the Josephine Pugh Lamar Assessment Center and the Jo Lamar Dementia Study at the Institute for Dementia Research and Prevention. Charles Lamar said at the reception, "Dementia took our mother's life too early, and we believe the work of the IDRP will find ways to help other victims of dementia. It is gratifying for all of my family members to play a part in developing a new and important organization that may improve lives in our community and perhaps the entire world."
For more information about the "Making Memories” campaign and challenge, call Ann Wilkinson, 225-763-2512, or visit on the web at pbrf.org. Gifts may also be made online.
######