The well-known reality show The Celebrity Apprentice emphasizes the fact that celebrities compete for their choice of charity. It’s great entertainment and a great way to raise awareness for many organizations. The ARPF recently had the opportunity to be one of these charities, chosen by David Cassidy to be his charity of choice.
Dr. Dharma, Kirti Khalsa and Conni Ingallina visit with David Cassidy
David’s grandfather had severe dementia and his mother is currently in 24-hour nursing with severe dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is near and dear to his heart and he chose the ARPF as his charity to help raise awareness that this disease can be prevented.
We were honored that David chose the ARPF as his charity for the Celebrity Apprentice and we went to Las Vegas last weekend to tell him so in person. David’s passion about this issue rings through in every word he speaks and we were privileged to hear his heart on this issue, as well as discuss other opportunities to raise awareness about Alzheimers and dementia.
And what visit would be complete without going to a Vegas show? We had the privilege of seeing David Cassidy in concert – he puts on a fantastic and entertaining show!
What a great weekend, and a great opportunity for the ARPF to raise even more awareness regarding our research and programs. Stay tuned for more…
Alzheimer's Research & Prevention 
May 14, 2011 at 5:00 pm
Alzheimers is not a disease that has touched my family, because my mum died aged 44 of cancer (when I was just 18)and my dad of heart disease aged 68. However, I can appreciate that in a strange way the mental death of the loved one may be almost harder than the physical. My heart goes out to all those affected. As a David Cassidy fan, I lament the fact that he was bullied off Celebrity Apprentice so quickly, and hope that the message he wanted to transmit still goes on, and that his purpose in increasing awareness of Alzheimers has been achieved.
March 17, 2012 at 1:13 pm
My mother is affected with Dementia. I once thought it was a disease that strikes elderly people until my mother was stricken at age 61…some signs were there before that. She has no short term memory. She was living in an inner city neighborhood alone for awhile. Her symptoms seemed to get worse after the death of her mother in 2001 and then her husband in 2005. I am fortunate enough now that she is in a Residential Boarding care where she does not have to be alone, that took about five broken bones and falls before I could get her placed. Legal issues-BS! I was determined not to get involved with the court system-I didnt have funds for that BS. I am an only child living 1200 miles away from the city where we grew up. She can still help dress herself, dance, laugh, we talk..she is almost 74 now, very congenial-something I learned when dealing with Alzheimer’s-Dementia patients-“there seems to be a part of them that know something is happening-and it often angers them”. She is well cared for. I went through so much pain, guilt and anger learning about this disease. I feel blessed that she is still here and can do many things, even though caring for herself alone is not one of them. My mother was arressted before she went into a care facility, thats just one of the many thiings that happened. She could not understand WHY a cab driver could not accept a check for bringing her out to the store….he had to turn it in as a failure to pay and sure enough three weeks went by-she happened to be walking her dog one day and the police arrested her. She does and says some funny things, often odd but I love her and share time with her when home. I am so proud that one of my teen idols is an advocate for the cause of Alzheimers/Dementia. God Bless you David Cassidy and for all of those who have loved one suffering from the disease.
September 19, 2012 at 10:34 am
My mother has Fronto temporal dementian and had acted much like the mother of the women above Patti B. I started noticing things were wrong with my mother in 1991, and shortly after that she broke her femur. I took care of her for three months, and then it seem like I have been none stop with her ever since. Her memory loss was the first sign and then her in ablilty to take care of her bills on her own. She was diagnosed with “mild cogitive impairment”, and I discovered that she has a beign brain tumor that caused the need to get an MRI every year. That lead to the diagnoses of FTD instead of what the doctors were looking for of Alzheimers.
Today, my mother is in a care facility that takes care of her and her dementia. I took care of getting her house ready for sale and her items. Her house will be finally be sold at the end of the month. I am a David Cassidy fan and listtened to his music a lot during the dark times. I was pleased to find out that he was going to help raise money and awareness for Alzheimer’s and Dementia.
Now I can finally rest a bit after spending 12 years helping my mom.