Awards for Medical Research — Since 1986, MetLife Foundation has awarded nearly $10 million in grants to scientists through the Awards for Medical Research in Alzheimer’s disease program. The Awards support scientists who have made significant contributions to the understanding of Alzheimer’s. Click here for a comprehensive look at past and present Awards for Medical Research winners.

PBS Special & Outreach Initiative — MetLife Foundation is the sole sponsor of The Forgetting: A Portrait of Alzheimer’s, a groundbreaking primetime PBS documentary and educational outreach program. The Forgetting helps people better understand and cope with the disease and providing practical resources and increased access to services.

Alzheimer’s Association — MetLife Foundation supports the national Alzheimer’s Association to advance research, enhance care and support, promote public awareness and expand diversity outreach. Grants supported a public education video for caregivers and families of persons with AD, as well as the development of Spanish-language materials and outreach in collaboration with the National Council of La Raza. MetLife Foundation also supports an outreach and awareness Initiative to local association chapters that develop new and innovative programs to use The Forgetting to build greater awareness of AD. In addition, the Foundation made a major grant to promote Safe Return, which provides 24/7/365 assistance for people with AD or related dementia who wander offer or become lost, either locally or far from home.

Alzheimer’s Disease Centers (ADC) — MetLife Foundation is supporting a new national education initiative to address AD and brain health for the general public. Through the National Institute on Aging’s network of ADCs, a comprehensive education initiative, including videos, toolkits and community forums, will be coordinated by experts from ADC sites at the University of Pennsylvania, University of California, San Francisco, Washington University, St. Louis and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.

Caregiving in the U.S. — With support from MetLife Foundation, the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP conducted the 2005 Caregiving in the U.S., an update of the benchmark 1996 survey. The new survey touches on all aspects of caregiving, including the demographics of the caregiver and the care recipient, a national profile of the typical caregiver, problems of long-distance caregivers and impact of chronic illness on caregivers.

MindAlert – A partnership between MetLife Foundation and the American Society on Aging, MindAlert recognizes community-based programs that enhance the mental vitality of older adults. The program also includes a lecture series and publication that disseminate the latest research findings on maintaining and enhancing cognitive fitness in later life.

Staying Sharp — An initiative with the AARP Foundation and the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, Staying Sharp is designed to provide the general public with information on the importance of maintaining good brain health and mental fitness. Through a series of public forums, panel discussions with leading neuroscientists provide the public with clear and accurate information on how to preserve memory during the aging process.

For more information on the Foundation's initiatives read about Alzheimer's and Aging.

Read about the the MetLife Mature Market Institute Initiatives, including commisioned studies, polls and publications, on caregiving and maintaining brain health.