The Dementia Momentum - Spokesman’s Report

Spokesman’s Report

As CHeBA will mark its tenth anniversary next year, it feels appropriate to reflect on the evolution of The Dementia Momentum and give recognition to the extraordinary number of partners, donors, fundraisers and supporters that have chosen to support it.

When I accepted the request to be Spokesman for The Dementia Momentum, there were almost 150,000 fewer people living with dementia. My hope was to bring a like-minded community together to change the future of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias for the generations to follow, through significant research funding and a willingness to increase the conversation to help reduce stigma and improve awareness.

I am pleased to see that this hope was not in vain and the objectives are increasingly being met.

In 2021, The Dementia Momentum saw tremendous involvement across both the corporate and community sectors.

KPMG Sydney announced its continuing support of the initiative as major in-kind partner, and we were extremely fortunate to be able to hold our annual luncheon hosted by KPMG at their Barangaroo offices, in June; an event that had been thwarted the previous year by the global pandemic. I am enormously grateful to KPMG for their ongoing involvement, and particularly to Senior Partner Eileen Hoggett for the steadfast commitment she has shown to the cause.

Through this year, 317 individuals, Foundations and corporate organisations have donated or pledged a total of $571,868 to The Dementia Momentum initiative, taking the total raised so far to over $8.8 Million. 64 senior corporate executives have committed themselves to the March 2022 Wipeout Dementia event.

On World Alzheimer’s Day, we launched the Change Makers – Next Gen Philanthropy initiative with Ambassadors PJ Lane, Ed Caser and Keri Kitay – and received national media coverage. With a vision of empowering emerging leaders aged 18-40, this initiative was launched in partnership with KPMG Australia and promotes the importance of modifiable lifestyle factors to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

I extend my gratitude to the initiative’s major donors: the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation, the John Holden Family Foundation, Roger Layton AM, the Mostyn Family Foundation, Phil Cave and Judy Harris, the Sachdev Foundation, Peter and Yvonne Halas, Morgans Foundation and Idle Acres Foundation. To the individuals who supported The Dementia Momentum by running the 2021 Blackmores Virtual Sydney Running Festival, coordinated matching gifts through employers, arranged donations in lieu of flowers after the passing of a loved one, or secured a sponsorship for a CHeBA event, I applaud you.

I extend my deepest personal thanks to every other donor that has given their dollars to this cause – because the reality is that every single dollar does count.

I continue to hope that research will uncover the complex layers of this disease and find a way to earlier intervention, effective treatments, and possibly even a cure – so that people in the future do not endure what I and my wife Suellen have endured, and what my children and grandchildren have missed out on.

Dr Richard Grellman

Spokesman, The Dementia Momentum

Dr Richard Grellman AM

Richard’s wife Suellen has advanced young-onset Alzheimer’s disease and has been in high-level care since 2016.