CaringKind In The News | Fall 2018 Newsletter

Although you’ll often find Jed A. Levine highlighting the importance of caregivers in the media, this summer he became a bit of a newsmaker himself. News of Jed becoming President and CEO of CaringKind was reported on in The Chronicle of Philanthropy and New York Nonprofit Media.

This October, Jed and Jessica Gonzalez, CaringKind’s Manager of Constituent Events and a caregiver herself, were guests on the hour-long radio show, “Community Connections” with veteran reporter Bill Ayers, on 95.5 WPLJ. Throughout the show, Jed and Jessica discussed CaringKind’s mission, important programs and events such as the Annual Research Meeting and the CaringKind Alzheimer’s Walk in Manhattan.

Speaking of the Manhattan Walk, it was featured on WABC-TV, Channel 7. Their anchor – and longtime CaringKind supporter - Bill Ritter, emceed the event and was awarded CaringKind’s Community Leadership Award.

Jed’s written comments were published by The New York Times in response to a story that relayed the struggles facing family caregivers. He wrote, in part, “Caregivers do not need to navigate the journey of Alzheimer’s or dementia alone. CaringKind, NYC’s leading expert in Alzheimer’s and dementia care for more than three decades, offers help for family caregivers.”

The TimesLedger newspaper put a bright spotlight on Chris Doucette, CaringKind’s Director of Administration, and a new podcast he created that has become an important educational resource for dementia caregivers. The podcast, “Caregiver/Storyteller” features poignant and compelling interviews with Alzheimer’s caregivers and has quickly found its way to the top as the most popular caregiving podcast on iTunes. Congratulations, Chris!

In October’s “Care Chronicle” column, featured in five borough papers, Jed emphasized how important it is for caregivers to care for themselves. And, as the school year kicked off in September, Jed focused his first column on education as an “important weapon” in the fight against Alzheimer’s. Jed highlighted CaringKind’s numerous resources including the website, the 24-hour Helpline and CaringKind’s various support and education meetings that educate and guide all through a difficult time.

For her last “Care Chronicle” column, Lou-Ellen Barkan, Founding Director of CaringKind, reflected on the effect music, arts and cultural experiences can have on a person with Alzheimer’s or dementia. Recalling a memory with her mother, who had Alzheimer’s, Lou-Ellen described the happiness and peace her mother found when hearing her favorite song. Lou-Ellen encouraged caregivers to take advantage of CaringKind’s connect2culture® program as a way to recreate moments like the one she described with her mother.

This summer, CityLimits, an online publication that provides in-depth reporting on NYC, featured connect2culture® in a piece about City institutions which use art in their Alzheimer’s programming. Jed, Jessica and Meredith Wong, CaringKind’s Manager of the connect2culture® program, are quoted in the article.
CaringKind’s Annual Research Meeting, “Eat, Sleep and Be Merry: What We Know About Brain Health,” that took place in October, was promoted in over 30 community calendars throughout the New York City area.

Photos from our fantastic “Forget-Me-Not” Gala were included in Social Life magazine, New York Social Diary, 25A Magazine, and Black Tie magazine.
Back in June, CaringKind’s overnight softball tournament, Play to Remember, was featured in the NYC Patch, Rivertowns Patch and The Rivertowns Enterprise.
Newspapers and news sites, which play an important role in helping us raise awareness and educate the community, continue to include our wide range of education meetings in their calendars, making New Yorkers aware of where and when they can get the help they need from CaringKind.