FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Barbara Lanz-Mateo
Company Name: Alzheimer’s Association California Central Coast Chapter
Telephone Number: 805.892.4259
Fax Number: 805.892.4250
Email Address: Barbara.Lanz-Mateo@alz.org
Website address: alz.org/cacentralcoast
Alzheimer’s Association Receives Large Donations in May
May 24, 2012, Santa Barbara — The Alzheimer’s Association California Central Coast
Chapter received $80,000 from three sources: The Coeta and Donald Barker Foundation;
Bettina Chandler, widow of Otis Chandler, the former publisher of the Los Angeles Times;
and The Vons Foundation.
The Coeta and Donald Barker Foundation gave $25,000 — with another $25,000 pledged for
next year — to launch and support Cultural Connections, a Chapter program for people in
early stage memory loss that offers excursions at museums and other cultural venues led
by specially trained docents.
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Cultural Connections is part of the Chapter’s focus efforts on behalf of people taking
memory loss mediations or who have been diagnosed with early stage dementia.
The Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens and the Santa Barbara
Museum of Natural History are the first three venues to sign on to participate in Cultural
Connections. Docents at each of the sites have been specially trained to lead tours for
participants in the program, which launches in July.
Chandler pledged to donate $25,000 to the Chapter, provided an equal amount of matching
funds can be raised. To that end, the Chapter has created the Go Purple Challenge, which
will launch July 1 and culminate on Friday, Sept. 21, Alzheimer’s Action Day.
The Vons Foundation donated $5,000 to the Chapter at a ceremony May 21 at the Vons
store in Santa Barbara. General Manager Gene Bendixen presented the check to
representatives from the Chapter, including Barbara Pieters, a long-time volunteer and
supporter of the Chapter. She is the daughter of Lloyd Peters, a former and beloved teacher
in Santa Barbara and who died at age 97 of Alzheimer’s in September.
More information about Cultural Connections and the Go Purple Challenge is available at the
Chapter’s website at alz.org/cacentralcoast or by calling the Chapter’s Santa Barbara office
at 805.892.4259.
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The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer care,
support and research. Our mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the
advancement of research, to provide and enhance care and support for all affected, and to
reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. Our vision is a world
without Alzheimer’s. The California Central Coast Chapter serves San Luis Obispo, Santa
Barbara, Ventura and Kern counties. alz.org/cacentralcoast
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