RICHMOND, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 5, 2003--GE Financial today announced that its Long Term Care Insurance Division has renewed its commitment to help create a world without Alzheimer's disease by signing on for a fourth year as a national sponsor of the Alzheimer's Association's Memory Walk.
Memory Walk is the single largest fund raising event of the Alzheimer's Association, said Sheldon Goldberg, president and CEO of the Alzheimer's Association. We are pleased that GE Long Term Care Insurance, its agents and employees will once again be helping support the millions of families who are affected by this devastating disease.
The goal of Memory Walk is to raise $22.5 million to fund local Alzheimer's programs and services, including hundreds of telephone help lines, and thousands of support groups and programs.
The money will also support local Safe Return programs that have helped locate and return nearly 8,000 people with Alzheimer's disease who wandered and became lost.
GE Long Term Care Insurance and the Alzheimer's Association partnership is based in part on their common missions. Both organizations are dedicated to helping educate the public on important health concerns and related long term care issues, said Buck Stinson, president of GE Long Term Care Insurance, the nation's leading provider of long term care insurance.
Giving back to local communities is also an important factor. In addition to our corporate contribution, GE Long Term Care Insurance is organizing agents and employees to champion the Memory Walk in their local communities, said Tom Bartosic, senior vice president of career sales.
Over the last three years, our sponsorship and agent efforts raised more than $2,200,000 to help families coping with Alzheimer's disease. This year, our goal is to raise $1 million -- $750,000 from agents, clients, and others, plus our $250,000 corporate sponsorship, Bartosic concluded.
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive disease that destroys the brain, causes memory loss and disorientation, and is always fatal.
According to the Alzheimer's Association, four million Americans currently have Alzheimer's, and nearly 20 million people say they have a family member with this devastating disease. The Association estimates 14 million Americans will have Alzheimer's by 2050.
Families and individuals are encouraged to plan for future long term care expenses, which can place a financial burden on family members. Without proper planning, long term care expenses can severely limit the choices people will have. Contrary to popular belief, these expenses are generally not covered by Medicare.
Long term care insurance can help families prepare for the possibility of a long term care need in the future, and can help relieve some of the financial burden of caring for an ailing family member that would otherwise fall on children or other family members. It can also provide options when choosing the type of care and location where that care is provided.
GE Financial is part of GE Insurance, a global family of companies with $173 billion in assets. GE Insurance provides insurance and reinsurance, risk prevention services, investments, mortgage-related services and financial guarantees for commercial, municipal, retail and consumer customers.
GE Insurance is part of the General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), a diversified services, technology and manufacturing company with operations worldwide. GE Long Term Care Insurance products are underwritten by General Electric Capital Assurance Company and, in New York, by GE Capital Life Assurance Company of New York. GE Long Term Care Insurance is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.
The Alzheimer's Association is the premier source of information and support for the four million Americans with Alzheimer's disease. Through its national network of chapters, it offers a broad range of programs and services for people with the disease, their families, and caregivers.
The Alzheimer's Association also represents their interests on Alzheimer-related issues before federal, state, and local governments, and with health and long term care providers. The largest private funder of Alzheimer research, the Association has committed more than $136 million toward research into the causes, treatment, prevention, and cure of Alzheimer's.
For more information about the Memory Walk and the Alzheimer's Association, call 1-800-272-3900 or visit the website, www.alz.org.
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CONTACT: Alzheimer's Association
Anne Brownsey, 312/335-4078
[email protected]
or
GE Financial
Carl Dombek, 415/492-7173
[email protected]
Jeff Wilson
GE Capital Corporate Finance
[email protected]
1-203-749-6340