The Georgia Chapter Alzheimer’s Association volunteer advocate team representing Georgia 6^th District, was named Congressional Team of the Year by Alzheimer’s Impact Movement (AIM).  

Among one of 535 Congressional teams across the country, the Georgia 6^th Congressional District received the award for their work with Representative Lucy McBath, GA-06.  The GA-06 Alzheimer’s Congressional Team consists of Ambassador Jamie Saunders and ACT Members Dan Goerke, Cabot Wigger, and Peggy Lavender. In their short time as a team together, they’ve been able to garner Representative McBath’s support of every single piece of legislation that AIM has advocated for since she’s been in Congress: including the Promoting Alzheimer's Awareness to Prevent Elder Abuse Act, Improving HOPE for Alzheimer's, Younger Onset Alzheimer's Act, and the Alzheimer’s Caregiver Support Act.

“This award speaks passion and our endless pursuit of an end to Alzheimer’s”, added Jamie Saunders, volunteer advocate and Ambassador for District6. “Representative McBath and her team have been amazing supporters of our cause. We absolutely could not get this done without their efforts”, added Saunders. 

The GA-06 team initiated a collaboration between Rep. McBath’s office, the Alzheimer’s Association, Georgia Chapter, and the Atlanta Veteran’s Association to deliver a virtual program for seniors seeking resources during the pandemic. In recognition of Rep. McBath’s role as Vice Chair of the Bipartisan Women’s Caucus, they have also continued to educate her office on the impact of Alzheimer’s and dementia on women. Finally, in addition to their federal work, each team member is involved in advocacy on state level, and they advocated fiercely this past year to urge the state to address the effects of prolonged social isolation on residents in long-term care facilities. Each team member is advocating for a loved one who have or had Alzheimer’s including Jamie Saunders, who lost her mother to younger-set Alzheimer’s in 2017. 

“We are incredibly proud of our District 6 Congressional Team”, added Linda Davidson, Executive Director, Alzheimer’s Association, Georgia Chapter.  “Alzheimer’s Association relies heavily on volunteers in many ways including working closely with our state and federal lawmakers. We could not achieve our mission without these volunteers and advocates that work relentlessly to help us end Alzheimer’s and all forms of dementia”, Davidson added  

Additional Facts and Figures: (http://www.alz.org/facts/)

• Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States.

• More than six million Americans are living with the disease, including 150,000 Georgia residents — a number estimated to grow to as many as 190,000 by year 2025.

• More than 16 million family and friends, including 330,000 in Georgia, provide unpaid care to people with Alzheimer's or other dementias in the United States.

• In 2020, friends and family of those with Alzheimer’s in Georgia provided an estimated 640 million hours of unpaid care, a contribution valued over $9 billion.