Kimberly Stephens' mother, Karen, was famous among family and friends as a doyenne of entertaining who never skipped a detail. But when Kimberly's sister got engaged in 2011, Karen had trouble completing even minor wedding tasks.

"She would redo things that she had already done, and then when she realized it, she'd cry," Kimberly says.

Karen was diagnosed with younger-onset Alzheimer's in 2014 at age 61. At first, the family tried its best to downplay Karen's condition to protect her from stigma. Soon, however, the burden of caregiving and keeping her mom's disease under wraps became too much, and Kimberly began to search for help. She discovered the Alzheimer's Association online, and learned about a Walk to End Alzheimer’s® event taking place in Birmingham, Alabama.

Four women in Kimberly's family have had the disease, and her extended family participated in their first Walk in 2015. "It was our way of telling people what we are doing, to release the stress of it all," Kimberly says. "Walk was my intro to actually talking about the disease, and my way of doing something about it."

The deaths of Kimberly's grandmother in 2006; her Aunt Janice in 2018 at age 65; her mother, Karen, in 2019 at age 66; and her Aunt Lorraine in 2024 have further empowered the family to fight back against Alzheimer's. From 2017 to 2022, Kimberly volunteered as event chair of the Heart of Alabama Walk to End Alzheimer's, and in 2021 she joined the Alzheimer's Association Alabama Chapter Board of Directors. She is an active advocate serving as an Ambassador and Congressional Team member for the Alzheimer's Impact Movement — helping to raise critical awareness to our elected officials and support imperative Alzheimer's legislation at the state and federal levels.

Kimberly has also made generous annual donations to the Association through the Zyne Family Foundation, a charitable fund where she serves as president. "Every dollar counts. And I know these dollars go toward a mission of moving things forward and making real change," Kimberly says. "Donating and volunteering can be your way of fighting for people like my mom, giving them a voice."

Learn more about the Aspire Society and ways you can get involved.