2026 GRANT RECIPIENTS
Baylor Scott and White Dallas Foundation
Support for the salary of a Care and Support Specialist at AT&T Memory Center Dallas, a professional who serves as a bridge between clinical care and the day-to-day realities of people living with memory disorders and their caregivers.
Bishop Arts Theatre Center
Support for PatioLive!, a community-based arts and wellness initiative designed to address the growing crisis of social isolation, loneliness, and cognitive decline among older adults—particularly those living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.
Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas
Support for “Identifying and Altering Early Trajectories of Cognitive Decline in North Texas”. The program provides individuals and families guidance and support before meaningful decline has already occurred. It includes scalable, sensitive tools that can identify early vulnerability and inform proactive strategies to protect brain health.
Dallas Museum of Art and Nasher Sculpture Garden
Support for Meaningful Moments, a free program conducted by the education staff of the two museums. The program is designed to provide community members in the early to mid-stages of Alzheimer’s Disease or other dementias with a supportive, enriching environment in which to engage with art.
Dallas Symphony Association
Support for DSO Cares, a program dedicated to improving the well-being of those living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias, through the healing power of music. It includes free, one-hour programs of live classical music by DSO musicians in senior living facilities, memory care homes, hospitals, and community centers across Dallas.
Dementia Care Warriors
Support for the 7th Annual Revive Refresh Symposium for dementia caregivers. The program empowers dementia family caregivers through education, peer support, wellness, and the community connection needed to sustain family members and their loved ones.
For Love & Art
Support for Celebrating the Art Experience, an hour-long program conducted in long-term care communities by trained professionals who bring the art experience to people with cognitive impairment and limited mobility. The program stimulates art enrichment and memories through virtual tours of world-famous museums while empowering caregivers to love people in creative and transformative ways.
Jewish Family Service
Support for the JFS Older Adult Services Program, which offers year-round homecare and
case management support for low-income North Texas older adults living with cognitive impairment who struggle to maintain their emotional wellness, physical functionality, and ability to perform basic domestic activities on a regular basis.
Juliette Fowler Communities
Support for the expanded community training and engagement initiatives: Dementia Friendly Dallas and Memory Café/Memory Choir. The programs are designed to strengthen dementia education and engagement across Dallas and launch a Memory Café program, grounded in the I’m Still Here philosophy of dignity-centered dementia engagement.
My Possibilities
Support for the eMPower Program for Adults with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities. The program is a specialized service designed for aging individuals experiencing cognitive changes associated with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. It integrates structured cognitive engagement, memory support strategies, therapeutic and sensory informed programming, and consistent daily routines that promote emotional security, dignity, and meaningful participation.
NorthPark Presbyterian Church
Support for the Casa de Vida program that provides a weekly respite program designed to alleviate the immense physical and emotional stress on dementia caregivers. Operating every Wednesday, the program serves both the individual living with dementia through cognitive engagement and the family caregiver through much-needed time away from the 24-hour demands of care.
Plano Symphony Orchestra
Support for Healing Notes, a music therapy program that brings structured, interactive musical experiences beyond the concert hall by going directly into memory care communities, adult day centers, and hospital settings. Concerts are led by professional musicians from the Plano Symphony Orchestra in partnership with licensed music therapists from Sound Starts Music Therapy.
Senior Attention
Support to give weekly half-day respite days to family caregivers an opportunity to recharge personal health batteries by getting out of the house for a few hours each week to take care of personal business, run errands, or simply find a quiet place to get away and have a break from being a caregiver.
The Senior Source
Support for the Senior Companion Program, a proven, dementia informed service that reduces social isolation and loneliness among older adults, supports family caregivers, and strengthens dementia expertise within the community. The program pairs trained older adult volunteers with clients needing companionship, supervision, and dementia informed support in their homes.
Songs & Smiles
Support for The Memory Café, a program that provides opportunities for caregivers to bring people living with Alzheimer's and related dementias to a safe and comfortable place. The two-hour program includes guided singalongs of familiar tunes followed by a game of SINGO, a musical bingo game. The singalongs and games use music to help attendees connect with memories and emotions, as well as with each other.
Stomping Ground Comedy Center
Support for Improv for Caregivers, an evidence-informed, skills-based communication and resilience program designed specifically for care partners of individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. The program uses applied improvisational techniques to teach flexible communication skills, and other techniques and coping skills grounded in therapeutic principles.
Texas Winds Musical Outreach
Support for a free program that brings live, professional music directly to isolated older adults. Ensembles perform concerts in nursing homes, assisted living and memory care communities, hospitals, and hospice settings. Musicians include instrument demonstrations, stories about composers, and opportunities for sing-alongs and audience participation.
The University of Texas at Dallas
Support for research by Dr. Chandramalika Basak in Developing Digital Detectors for MCI by Using Machine Learning and Biomarkers. This project enables researchers to make a meaningful and measurable impact on the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. By uniting advanced analytics with real world clinical insight, tools are being built that can change the trajectory of cognitive aging.
The University of Texas at Dallas
Support for research by Dr. Michael Rugg on The Effects of Age and Age-Related Neurodegeneration on Memory Precision and Its Neural Correlates. This project addresses the need for highly sensitive memory tests that can identify subtle but potentially significant differences in memory function that may indicate the onset of changes in brain structure and function associated with pre-symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease
Westminster Presbyterian Church
Support for Making Memories, a twice-monthly respite opportunity for family caregivers of individuals living with early- to mid-stage Alzheimer’s and related dementia. While caregivers receive a break, participants engage in a supportive, enriching environment designed to promote well-being, socialization, art, and cognitive stimulation that foster connection, engagement, and joy.
Wilshire Baptist Church
Support for Friday Friends, a twice a month respite program for people caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's or a related dementia. It is a structured four-hour program that includes a topic of the day discussion, sing-alongs, active games, lunch, chair exercise, and time for talking and visiting, while allowing caregivers time to take care of personal business.
Myrna D. Schlegel AWARE Scholarship Fund
This fund awards scholarships to worthy nursing students to further their studies in the field of gerontology, focusing on dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
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