Across the city of Chattanooga on Sunday, June 10, there will be a call to action for pastors to unite and support Memory Sunday: A National Alzheimer’s and Caregiving Awareness Campaign for African-American Congregations.
"The campaign brings attention to the tremendous burden of Alzheimer’s and other dementias in the African-American community, while utilizing the power and influence of the pulpit. The goal is to bring awareness about Alzheimer’s, distribute information, discover community resources and support persons living with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers," officials said.
“We are localizing this national movement for a second year by calling it Memory Sunday Chattanooga. Last year, Chattanooga was recognized as the top participating city in the country. We are excited that our continued efforts will create awareness for a public health crisis among African Americans living in our city,” said Christopher-Charles Chaney, the CEO of CHANEYspeaks, a national family caregiving advocacy corporation located in Chattanooga.
"Alzheimer’s affects an estimated five million people in the United States. However, African Americans are about twice as likely to have Alzheimer’s or other dementias as elderly white Americans. African Americans are more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at the later stages and to be misdiagnosed due to other illnesses, a lack of awareness and a lack of access to appropriate medical care," officials said.
“There’s literally no time to waste. The epidemic of Alzheimer’s is projected to continue spreading over the next 30 years as the number of African Americans entering the age of risk will more than double to 6.9 million,” said Christin McWhorter, community outreach manager with the Southeast Tennessee Areas Agency on Aging and Disability.
“There is no better time and no better place for our community to learn about Alzheimer’s than in the church,” said Ruth Thomas, senior pastor of Real Life Christian Ministries, one of Memory Sunday Chattanooga’s participants.
Participating congregations will receive free access to the Memory Sunday toolkit, promotional materials, program implementation ideas and a local representative. Campaign sponsors have created a turnkey awareness program that is free, customizable and far from being time intensive. Congregations can do a full promotion event or simply announce the campaign and community resources during their morning service.
Church organizations can get involved or registered for Memory Sunday events and receive free promotional materials by registering at www.balmingilead.org. For additional information or assistance with registration and/or planning, contact Christopher Chaney at 423-781-1555 or ChaneySpeaks@gmail.com.
Memory Sunday is a national campaign of The National Brain Health Center for African Americans, a program of the Balm in Gilead, Inc., a national organization "entrusted to build and strengthen the capacity of faith-based organizations to become beacons of light for health promotion."