The Cart Fund
Established in 1995, the Coins for Alzheimer's Research Trust has raised over $1 million for research that will lead to a prevention or cure of Alzheimer's Disease. The program was initiated by the Rotary Club of Sumter, then adopted by District 7770 and now has spread to all the Rotary Districts in South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia. The program simply asks Rotarians to donate their loose change at their weekly meetings. Through these efforts, the CART Fund has made grants to:
- Emory University's Alzheimer's Research Center (April 1999, $100,000)
- Case Western University (May 2001, $250,000)
- Johns Hopkins University (April 2002, $250,000)
- University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (March 2003, $250,000)
- University of Connecticut Health Center (May 2004, $250,000)
In May of 2005, the sixth grant made by the CART Fund was presented to Dr. Gary Small and his research team from UCLA. They received a check for $250,000. UCLA was selected ahead of 70 other applicants from research centers in over 40 states. This makes the total CART grants $1,350,000.00.
The UCLA scientists are the first to develop technology that will provide a direct measure of plaque and tangle density in the living patient. The plaque and tangles are commonly found in all Alzheimer's patients. Using only human volunteers, their project will be the first ever to detail the use of this technology in people at risk for Alzheimer's. This research hopefully will result in a major breakthrough in early detection and even prevention of the disease.
You can find more information online at www.cartfund.org.
Karen Shore and Anita Brown accept the 2005 District Trophy at District Conference.
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