The ACBL’s partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association has produced another big show of support for caregivers and research efforts to find a cure. With a goal of repeating last year’s record total of $1 million, ACBL clubs and units hosted fundraising events on the day of their choice one week in June and in the months leading up to it. Bridge players rose to the occasion, raising nearly $1.2 million – $1,176,400 – bringing the six-year total to more than $4.7 million.
The ACBL is not just the top group in fundraising for The Longest Day, but contributes more to the Alzheimer’s Association than the next nine groups combined.
The results impressed Joe Jones, the ACBL’s acting executive director. “We never imagined we would be able to surpass what we raised in 2017, but our club managers and event organizers
made it their mission to increase the ACBL’s total donations,” Jones said. “I couldn’t be prouder of our clubs for taking this cause to heart and going above and beyond to support this
event.”
The Alzheimer’s Association also thanked ACBL members for their support.
“The Alzheimer’s Association congratulates and thanks ACBL for another astounding year as the top fundraising Global Team, raising nearly $1.2 million for The Longest Day 2018,” said CEO Harry Johns. “The unwavering commitment of bridge players across the country has helped fuel critical Alzheimer’s Association care, support and research programs. We are so grateful to ACBL
and its members, many of whom have a personal connection to the disease, for their exemplary and continuing support, which has resulted in raising more than $4.7 million over six years.”
Expanding the event from a single day to a week allowed many more clubs to participate, particularly smaller ones that hold only one or two games a week in places where they might not
have access to their space on a given designated day. While the number of ACBL teams that made direct donations remained about the same at 260, the total number of participating clubs
rose dramatically to nearly 500. Sanction fees paid to the ACBL for participating games rose 50 percent, to over $44,000. Many clubs joined together in teams with others in their units, and
some simply held sanctioned games without other activities. All of them contributed to the cause.
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