Alzheimer’s Family Services Center, a dementia-specific adult day
health care facility, celebrated its 14th annual A Gathering of Friends
Gala on Saturday at the Waterfront Beach Resort, a Hilton Hotel in Huntington Beach.
More than 300 guests helped raise $245,000 through the evening’s
fundraising efforts, including an $80,000 matching sponsorship from Hoag
Memorial Hospital Presbyterian.
“With more than 83,000 individuals living with dementia in Orange
County, our hands-on care solutions are needed now more than ever,”
said Joanna Richardson-Jones, chief executive of the Huntington Beach-based
center. “The dollars raised at our event will help hundreds of local
families navigating the difficult journey of Alzheimer’s and other
types of dementia. We are greatly appreciative of those who attended our
event.”
The center selected William R. Shankle,M.D., Judy and Richard Voltmer Chair
in Memory and Cognitive Disorders and Director of the Orange County Vital
Brain Aging Program at Hoag’s Neurosciences Institute, and Junko
Hara, director of research at Shankle Clinic in Newport Beach and scientific
adviser for the brain aging program, as its Distinguished Friend honorees
for their longtime support of the Alzheimer’s Family Services Center
and contributions in the field of memory and cognitive disorders. Shankle
maintains his academic career at the department of cognitive sciences
at UC Irvine. For 10 years, he also served as a clinical director at UCI’s
Alzheimer’s Research Clinic.
The agency also honored Gerald D. Weinstein of Irvine, a former academic
dermatologist who has been attending the center since June 2013. The highlight
of the evening was a touching tribute video to Weinstein that commemorated
his career achievements, including serving as chairman of the department
of dermatology at UC Irvine for more than three decades and serving as
dean of the UCI School of Medicine from 1984 to ’87. The Alzheimer’s
Family Services Center is affiliated with the Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute
and is an independent, nonprofit agency dedicated to improving quality
of life for families challenged by Alzheimer’s disease or other
forms of dementia through services tailored to meet individual needs.