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    Advocacy

    Elizabeth Gelfand Stearns with fellow Alzheimer's advocates on Capitol Hill.
    Government action can affect change on a scale far beyond what the private and nonprofit sectors can achieve. With the help of our generous donors, The Judy Fund played a catalytic role in the fight to make Alzheimer's a national priority.

    How we've made a difference

    The Judy Fund started investing in the Alzheimer's Association Ambassador Program when it was created in 2010. Thanks to our donors, the program has grown from a small pilot of 24 people to an expanding network of more than 500 grassroots volunteers who maintain conversations with all 535 members of Congress year round.

    The Alzheimer's Association works in partnership with the Alzheimer's Impact Movement (AIM), a separately incorporated advocacy affiliate of the Association. Together, we have had unparalleled success in advancing laws and other government actions that accelerate scientific research and improve access to quality care and support for individuals and families facing dementia.

    In late 2024, the U.S. government renewed its commitment to fighting Alzheimer's by enacting three Alzheimer's Association priority bills: 

    • The NAPA (National Alzheimer's Project Act) Reauthorization extends the groundbreaking National Alzheimer's Plan of 2011 and emphasizes the importance of healthy aging and risk reduction. 

    • The Alzheimer's Accountability and Investment Act builds on 2014 legislation and ensures Congress will continue to hear directly from scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on the Alzheimer's and dementia research funding needed to achieve the goals in the National Plan.

    • The BOLD Reauthorization Act will enable public health departments to implement effective dementia interventions.

    Federal legislative victories have been joined by regulatory successes and state legislative successes as well.

    Voices advocating on behalf of all facing Alzheimer's are necessary in Washington and around the country.