Introduction:

When it comes to Alzheimers, no two stories are the same. Alzheimers is an unpredictable disease that surpasses ordinary health precautions-one that cannot be avoided. One of our employees, Nancy, explained how desolate she felt after her personal experience as a caregiver. As I write, tears flow down my face, and my heart goes out to all the other loved ones of Alzheimer's victims. I want to help them so much, but I do not have any strength left(Nancy Walters). Nancy, a long-time employee, was enormously burdened when her husband was diagnosed with Alzheimers. Nancy and her husband were asked to leave from every nursing home around the city since there were not enough caregivers for low income families. Nancys story is a perfect example of how our donation would be helpful for patients with Alzheimers, who do not have access to proper care. Alzheimers patients and their caregivers are in desperate need of an outside helping hand. In some cases, patients live alone and pose a hazard to those around them. With our donation, we would help expand the Alzheimers Associations pre-existing services. Many people do not have access to the appropriate medication. There is always a shortage of homecare providers, so our company will aid this problem by providing necessary resources. Our company will not only provide the Alzheimers Association with funding, but our employees will be a part of impacting lives personally. Our donation will be dispersed as needed to the association, and our staff will be taking part in making home cooked meals for the patients and their families, and providing transportation. The following sections include a background about the disease, our proposal, a summary of the staffing requirements, and a budget section.

Background:
The immediate problem concerning Alzheimers is how financially difficult it is to obtain homecare for those suffering with Alzheimers. Added on top of this is the stress experienced by those who provide the homecare for those who s uffer from Alzheimers. These two problems combined make it difficult to provide the homecare for those who need it, while also making it difficult to retain those who already provide homecare. Statistics: In Texas alone there are 340,000 people that live with Alzheimers disease. A study showed that about 15% of those living in the community (not in a care facility or in a retirement home) with Alzheimers, live alone. Given that statistic, there are about 51,000 people in Texas with Alzheimers who do not have access to proper care. There are about 2,390 people, or roughly four percent of the Texas population, with Alzheimer's, living in the Dallas area who are struggling to survive since they do not have the appropriate care. There are several different reasons why people are unable to receive the proper care that they need. The most prevalent problem is that it costs about $25,622 in order to pay for just one years worth of homecare services and aid for

those suffering with Alzheimers. For those who want to receive care within a residential facility, that price is increased by 269%, or $69,079. These high costs make it extremely difficult to pay for Alzheimers care, even for those who have health insurance. For those without health insurance, the cost of care must come entirely out of pocket, and it is seldom that an individual is able to cover that cost. This in itself becomes a very complex issue for individuals who are diagnosed with Alzheimers, as well as a problem for the entire population. Alzheimers Progression: Alzheimers disease has seven stages of progression. At each of these stages, the disease progresses, further hindering the functionality of the patient. Stage one is classified as No impairment, where the person does not experience a ny severe memory problems. When examined by a doctor, the patient does not show any sign of dementia. Stage two is a very mild decline. The person experiences memory lapses with familiar words, objects, and locations. Severe symptoms of dementia are still not present at this stage. In Stage three, the person is diagnosed with an early stage of Alzheimers. This stage is called the Mild cognitive decline. Family and friends of the patient will notice the difficulties that include: coming up with the right words or names, having trouble remembering names of new people, having noticeable problems performing tasks in social or work settings, forgetting something they recently read, losing a valuable object, and having difficulty with planning and organizing. Stage four is classified as the moderate cognitive decline or mild or early-stage Alzheimers disease. At this stage, the symptoms of Alzheimer's are apparent, upon a careful medical interview. The person experiences forgetfulness of recent events, impaired ability to perform simple arithmetic, difficulty performing simple tasks such as planning and paying bills, forgetfulness of ones personal history, and agitation during social or mentally challenging situations. Stage five is the moderate, or mid-stage Alzheimers disease. At stage five, individuals need assistance with daily life functions. The person may not be able to remember their home address, phone number, or what school they graduated from. Although they may be confused about where they are and what day of the week it is, in most cases, patients still remember significant details about themselves and their family at this point. Stage six is moderately severe or mid-stage Alzheimers disease. In this stage, the patients memory severely declines, causing personality changes to take place. The individual will need assistance with daily activities, such as using the toilet, and will have difficulties controlling their bladder and bowel. It is very important that that the patient is under extreme supervision at this point. Stage seven is summarized as Severe or late-stage Alzheimers disease. In this final

stage of the disease, the person loses the ability to respond to their environment, carry on a conversation, and eventually, the ability to control their own movement. The person can still say words or phrases, but they constantly need help with daily and personal care, eating, and using the toilet. They might lose the ability to smile, sit without support, or hold their heads up. Late stage care is the most challenging to the caregiver, mostly because the patient lacks the most control at this point. (Seven Stages of Alzheimers). What Alzheimers Does: The reason Alzheimers causes such a problem is because it is a disease that impairs the cognitive abilities of the patient by actually deteriorating the brain. This can cause symptoms including anxiety, suspiciousness and agitation, confusion, difficulties with basic tasks, including bathing and eating, difficulty recognizing family and friends, forgetting how to use normal items, such as a pencil, inability to recognize objects, loss of appetite and weight loss, loss of bladder and bowel control, problems finding or speaking the right word, loss of speech, repetitive speaking or action, sleep disturbances, total dependence on caregiver, and wandering and pacing (Alzheimers Disease Questions and Answers). While those who are affected may not exhibit all of these symptoms, they typically exhibit some combination of them. This can result in them being a danger to themselves and the community. It is possible that someone with Alzheimers could forget that they are incapable of driving, get behind the wheel of a car, and cause an accident. Other Problems: Another large problem facing homecare is the stress that is placed on those who provide homecare for those with Alzheimers. Most of the focus about homecare goes to the fact that homecare is a very expensive service. However, that does not even become a factor if there are not enough people who can cope with the stress that comes with providing the homecare. Although there are currently 15 million Americans providing homecare to those who need it (Alzheimers Association, 2011), 63 percent of those experience emotional stress, and 43 percent experience physical stress. This can cause a large problem, as it makes it more difficult to retain those who provide homecare. Another problem is the work related effects of caregiving. The effects on work ranged from having to go in late, leave early, and take time off, all the way to performance dropping to the point of possible dismissal or loss of job benefits. Despite the vast number of people already providing homecare, it is difficult for them to continue in that regard without having to make sacrifices in their workplace, which not many people are willing to do.

Proposal:
For this project, our team has put together some ideas that the company could use in

order to help promote and aid in Alzheimers care. First and foremost, we will be working with the Greater Dallas Chapter of the Alzheimers Association. Our goal is to dedicate one game this season to Alzheimers care awareness, and to take the proceeds from the game and provide them to the Alzheimers association. We also plan to send employees out to work with the caregivers that the Alzheimers Association sends to homes of those who need care. We have chosen to work with the Alzheimers Association for several reasons. Who We Will Work With: The Alzheimers Association is proudly represented by the Greater Dallas Chapter within the Dallas area. We chose this organization over other organizations because their way of volunteering is extremely pronounced throughout the nation in terms of awareness and raising funds. There are currently 5.4 million people diagnosed with Alzheimers, and there are 15 million Americans caring for them. The numbers alone scream for help. Having a loved one with Alzheimers can be very burdensome. The Alzheimers Association provides much needed assistance to those with Alzheimers as well as their caregivers. It is no secret that any additional funding is helpful. What They Do: Caregivers are those that take on the responsibility of taking care of Alzheimers patients. Many questions arise during these times. Some may include: How am I going to get care for my loved one? Where can I get help when I need it? The Greater Dallas Chapter has several locations that have services available in order to receive this help. It makes human interaction an available service, as well as a 24/7 helpline and online group forums. Community wise, The Alzheimers Association has established support groups for those dealing with caregiving issues and people with struggles similar to their own. In addition to providing answers to questions, Alzheimers Association can provide hands on help. They find in-home assistance for patients, free of charge. More than anything, that is what caregivers need when they are unable to account for the actions of their loved one. With our philanthropic donation, the association will be able to help pay off some of what the in-home assistance employees charge. Alzheimers Association will utilize this money to aid those who need it. The Greater Dallas Chapter offers many opportunities for those that want to volunteer. Their national Alzheimer walk takes place frequently throughout the year located in different cities, Dallas being one of many locations. The Walk to End Alzheimers provides an opportunity for people to make a group effort to raise money, awareness, and overall support for Alzheimers patients. This is one of the important differentiations of the Alzheimers Association, because it makes friends and family more interactive with both patients of Alzheimers and their caregivers. It is the nation's largest event to

raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer's care, support and research (Walk to End Alzheimers). We have learned from a young age that most things are easier for us when we finalize them earlier. In a regular caregivers life, having to take care of an Alzheimers patient takes a stressful toll on them. Their professional work life is adversely affected by the responsibilities they have to take on. Transitioning from a normal lifestyle (usually devoid of Alzheimers education), turns into one completely revolved around worries of if your loved one is going to be okay when you're not there. Caregivers need someone to turn to that knows exactly how to handle these situations. Financial planning is needed, along with medical planning assistance. Money can be saved with insurance, Medicaid, retirement and employment benefits. If this is planned earlier in time, then the caregivers stress can be lessened. The Alzheimers Association has an online website that provides answers for caregivers, for example: what to watch out for, different stages that patients go through, and medical concerns. Some of these services are provided to caregivers for free, but the funding needs to come from somewhere. With our donation, the Alzheimers Association would be able to assist patients and caregivers with managing Alzheimers disease. The Alzheimers Association does a lot of work to make sure that as many people are able to receive the care they need, which made them an ideal candidate for a cooperative effort to make a difference in the community. What We Can Do To Help: The primary point of our plan to help the Alzheimers Association is to dedicate one game to Alzheimers Awareness, and to take the proceeds from that game and provide them to the Alzheimers Association. The Dallas Cowboys manage to make $20 million in total after-cost revenue after every game. This means that we should be able to donate about 80% of that total to the Alzheimers Association. This is a large sum of money that will be given, however it will help not only the Alzheimers Association, but also our company. We will be able to show that we care about our community, which will make our company look better in the eyes of the public, as well as help us live up to the title of Americas Team. This kind of contribution would not go unnoticed, and might even spark a trend among other corporations in the Dallas area, or even across the United States, where corporations aid in helping to solve an issue in their community. And at the forefront of that trend would be the Dallas Cowboys; Americas Team paving the way to companies giving back to their communities. The Plan Part 1: There are several parts that make up the whole of our plan for aiding the Alzheimers Association. We will begin by increasing the price of the front row seats in all sections of the stadium for the one game by 20 to 50 dollars, depending on the location of the seat. Any extra proceeds gained from this will be given directly to the Alzheimers

Association. We decided to only increase the price by 20 to 50 dollars since it would be a substantial increase in revenue, with minimal impact on the fans. However, this price increase will not apply to fans who have season passes with seats in the front row. Part 2: We will also have a donation option in the weeks leading up to the game on the website, as well as on-site at the game itself. People could donate any amount they want, beginning at one dollar. All of the money generated in this way would also be given straight to the Alzheimers Association. To help give incentive to donate, we will allow the largest donor, be it company or individual, to present the check with the final total on it to a representative from the Alzheimers Association after the game has ended. This would give corporations an incentive to donate because they would be able to get their name out into the public as a company that cares about the community, essentially piggy-backing on the public relations boost that our company would be receiving. This would be an incentive to donate for private citizens as well, if for different reasons. It would give a private citizen a chance to represent what they as an individual stands for, while also giving them the personal satisfaction that they have done something substantial to aid the community. Part 3: We will be giving the money to the Alzheimers Association to do with as they see fit. This could consist of sponsoring a group of patients who are currently unable to afford the homecare they need, or simply buying supplies that caregivers need in order to provide the proper care and treatment to those suffering from the disease. While it would be wonderful to simply state that the money given will go towards sponsoring homecare for 620 people for a year, that might not be the best use for the money. As it is, we want the donated money to be used in the way that will most greatly benefit the community. To achieve this, we will be giving the money to the Alzheimers Association without any special requests so that they may do with the money what is most helpful for the community as a whole. In the past, the Alzheimers Association has used their funds for many different services for those dealing with Alzheimers. This includes providing over 290 classes for caregivers, in-depth care consultations, and offering over 15,000 hours of respite for family caregivers to take a break from their duties (Use of Funds). Part 4: The final part of our plan is to send employees from our company out into the community to aid in the caregivers from the Alzheimers Association in any way possible. The details of this plan are described below.

Staffing:
Because the part of our plan that involves the football game does not include any extra staffing, we will not need to do anything out of the ordinary to staff it. For the second part, we will be sending a group of anywhere from 50-200 workers into the community with a caregiver from the Alzheimers Association to aid them in any way possible. It could be anything from preparing the medicine, to simply running errands. The important thing is that our employees get out into the community and actively aid it. It is important that we do this because it is largely possible for any large company to just cut a large check every now and then, present it to a company, and proclaim that it is aiding the community. It takes an extra level of effort and involvement to actually send employees out into the community, hands-on, to aid with the problem. This is not to say that just giving a check to a company isnt helpful. The extra level of hands on interaction with the problem can sometimes mean more in terms of company value as well as raising awareness with others, beginning with our staff.. This aid will be very helpful, as it should serve to help lessen the stress placed on those who provide homecare. It is also important, however, to make sure to incentivize volunteering to the employees, otherwise it might be difficult to get volunteers to help aid the caregivers. To help add an incentive to it, we will give every volunteer a free Polo Shirt with the Cowboys and Alzheimers Association logos on it, which would help them be recognized as Volunteers in this event. In addition to that, their names will also be announced at the game so that they may be recognized for the work they are taking part in. Hopefully this would be a strong enough addition for the workers to want to volunteer for this event, and help around the community.

Budget:
The budget for our proposal is around $20,000,000.00. This does not include the money earned from donations, as there is no way to tell how much we will earn through this method. Therefore it will only be considered as a break even value, neither raising nor lowering our final revenue. The most expensive portion of the budget will be the $16 million that will be given to the Alzheimers Association in Dallas. This is the main part of our plan and will be an important contribution to the community. After that comes the advertising budget, which is the second most expensive portion of the budget, with $3 million allotted to it. It will cost us $2.5 million for five TV commercials during the game (Steinburg) asking for people to help by donating, about $200,000.00 for a five week radio sponsoring campaign on 25 radio stations (Brueski), and at most $150,000 for several billboard advertisements. With these costs allocated, we should be able to promote the game rather effectively, which would help to raise donations, and also help to raise community awareness about Alzheimers. The final major cost to us are the free Polo Shirts for Volunteers. It is estimated that the maximum number of volunteers will

reach around 200 people. The shirts then come to a calculated cost of $46.00, totaling to a cost of $9,200.00 for volunteers. After all of these costs, our company would still be walking away with a total revenue of $990,800.00.
Budget For the Game Total Revenue before added expenses Total Given to Alzheimer's Association Total Advertising Budget 5 TV Advertisements 1 Sponsorship on a Radio Program 2 Billboards Shirts for 200 Volunteers - $46.00 per shirt Total Final Revenue -9,200.00 990,800.00 20,000,000.00 -16,000,000.00 -3,000,000.00 -2,500,000.00 -200,000.00 -300,000.00

While this is nowhere near as much profit as we normally make, we would be giving to the community something which it sorely needs.

Conclusion:
A significant amount of people in the Dallas area suffer daily from lack of care. We, as the Dallas Cowboys management team, have the means to make a real difference in several lives of Dallas patients with this project. We will be giving help where it is severely needed with this project right in our hometown. Many people who suffer from Alzheimers disease will be directly impacted by our program. Several of these suffering people have no access to the right medicine, need assistance with bathing and feeding, and need to be reminded where they are. They can be harm to others and themselves. We as a company have the ability to provide these people with physical assistance. We can and will make a noticeable difference within our community. We will also be benefitting those who are not directly impacted by this disease. By going through with our plan, we will be able to offer support and aid to those giving their time to help those who need it. Not only will we be helping those who will truly benefit from our support, but we will be boosting company morale as well. Our fans and community will see how passionate we can be as a company about helping others. This project will also help change peoples perception about the Dallas Cowboys from NFL Giant to Community-concerned local football team. This project will help our employees and CEOs to remember that there are many people who need help even in our own community. This project will help us grow as people, together. In return, we will become closer as a company and will

improve on our teamwork abilities. We have a reachable goal that will positively impact numerous lives. We truly appreciate any support you might consider giving. Thank you for taking time out of your day to hear about our proposal. We hope you will join us on our quest to create better lives for those in the Dallas community with Alzheimers.

Works Cited Alzheimers Association. (March 2011). 2011 Alzheimers disease facts and figures. Alzheimers and Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimers Association , 7, 208-244. Alzheimers Disease Questions and Answers. Retrieved from http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/alzheimers/qanda.shtm Alzheimers Facts and Figures. Retrieved from http://www.alz.org/downloads/Facts_Figures_2012.pdf Brueski, Tony. How Much Does Radio Advertising Cost?. Retrieved from http://localmarketingideas.com/how-much-does-radio-advertising-cost/ Nancy's Story. Retrieved from http://www.alz.org/living_with_alzheimers_11653.asp Seven Stages of Alzheimers. Retrieved from http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_stages_of_alzheimers.asp Steinburg, Brian. (2012, October 12). TV Ad Prices: Idol No Match for Football. AdAge.com. Retrieved from http://adage.com/article/media/tv-ad-prices-idol-match-football/237874/ Use of Funds. Retrieved from http://www.alz.org/greaterdallas/in_my_community_donate_use.asp Walk to end Alzheimers. Retrieved from http://act.alz.org/site/PageServer?pagename=walk_about