The Engaged Brains Project, a community-based dementia inclusion initiative founded by Karen D. Sullivan, Ph.D., ABPP, and a team of 60 community champions, has been honored with the Rising Star Award from the Alzheimer’s Association in recognition of its outstanding contributions to dementia awareness and community engagement.
The award highlights Engaged Brains’ remarkable participation in this year’s Moore County Walk to End Alzheimer’s, where 49 team members joined together to raise awareness and funds for brain health. The team achieved 258% of its fundraising goal, raising $5,160 in support of Alzheimer’s research, education, and care initiatives.
Engaged Brains Champions Elise Ellis, Dr. Carter Grine, and Cate Mills accepted the award on behalf of the community. “This recognition is a reflection of the incredible spirit of our neighbors,” said Dr. Sullivan. “Every person who walked, donated, or volunteered helped show what it looks like when a community truly comes together for those living with brain change. This is Moore County at its best.”
The Engaged Brains Project was developed as part of Dr. Sullivan’s Reid Healthcare Transformation Fellowship through the Foundation of FirstHealth. Over its one-year span, the project trained more than 3,000 community members to see the person beyond the diagnosis and launched over 75 inclusion initiatives, such as Engaged Cinema, Engaged Golf, and dozens of neighborhood volunteer programs that bring purpose and social connection back into the lives of people living with brain change and their care partners.
Champion Elise Ellis shared, “My journey started with my mom’s brain change, but it has grown into something much bigger. When she was invited to hold the blue flower on stage at the Walk to End Alzheimer’s event, our family felt both the hope of tomorrow and the love and strength coming from our community. Accepting the Rising Star Team Award with Carter and Cate is a reminder that every step we take together moves us closer to real change.”
Champions Dr. Grine and his wife, Cate Mills, added, “When Carter was diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer’s, we were overwhelmed with fear about the future, confusion regarding medical options, and a sense of isolation in this experience. Fortunately, through the Engaged Brain Project and the Alzheimer’s Association, we have developed a supportive community at local, regional, and national levels, for ourselves and for others. Moore County is setting an example for the entire country by demonstrating how individuals living with dementia should experience life—filled with love, support, and a sense of value.”
Held annually in more than 600 communities nationwide, the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the world’s largest fundraiser for Alzheimer’s care, support, and research. Since 1989, the Alzheimer’s Association has mobilized millions of Americans, first through the Memory Walk and now through the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, to advance the mission of ending Alzheimer’s and all other dementias. The walk unites participants of all ages and abilities in a shared purpose: to honor loved ones, celebrate progress, and take meaningful steps toward a world without Alzheimer’s.
As Dr. Sullivan reflected, “Awards like this remind us that community is medicine. When we show up for one another, we create belonging and belonging is what heals.”
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Feature photo: Carter Grine and Cate Mills.
Article and photo contributed by The Engaged Brains Project.
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