CU Foundation’s $250,000 Gift Expands Care to Rural Alzheimer’s Patients

Approximately 130 people living with Alzheimer’s or other cognitive impairments in rural Western North Carolina, along with 300 caregivers, will gain access to in-home clinical and care management services from the nonprofit MemoryCare thanks to a $250,000 donation from the SECU Foundation.

It was the third donation to MemoryCare from the SECU Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization funded by the contributions of members of SECU ($55.8 billion, Raleigh, N.C.). In 2016, a $1.8 million award from the Foundation funded the construction of the SECU Center for MemoryCare in Asheville, N.C. (pictured above), and during the pandemic, it contributed $100,000 to help the nonprofit keep its services going.

The most recent donation will support MemoryCare’s Haywood County site, located in Waynesville, N.C., according to SECU’s Monday announcement.

“We are extremely grateful for SECU Foundation’s grant to address the concerns of both the person living with dementia and their family caregivers,” MemoryCare Founder and Medical Director Margaret A. Noel, MD, stated. “MemoryCare was founded on the tenet that having an engaged, educated caregiver is a critical social determinant of health for a person living with dementia. Families report that MemoryCare services help them better manage their loved one’s illness and their stress as a caregiver and enables them to keep their loved one safely at home longer.”

SECU Foundation Executive Director Jama Campbell added, “MemoryCare’s comprehensive treatment model sets the standard for dementia care. Their family-focused work is incredibly powerful and the impact is beyond measure. Our ‘people helping people’ philosophy is well in action at MemoryCare, and we are pleased to help expand access to their important services in this rural area of the state.”

The nonprofit serves more than 1,000 patients and 3,500 caregivers across 18 North Carolina counties.