October 2018 - 12

ACBL raises $1.2M for The Longest Day

he 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 sixyear 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

BY CHIP DOMBROWSKI

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.

»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»
Major repeat

As in years past, the top fundraising club was Sagamore Bridge Club
in Syosset NY, where some of the
ACBL's wealthiest members play. The
club regularly raised around $100,000
a year, until last year when a single
donation by Ruth Stober of Floral Park
NY doubled that amount. Stober once
again donated $100,000, bringing Sagamore's total to $201,714, about onesixth of the ACBL total.
Last year when Stober said she wanted to do "something major," you might
have thought a one-time large donation
would fit the bill. But she had bigger
plans. "My commitment to supporting
Alzheimer's is very deep, having had

12 Bridge Bulletin October 2018

them to increase their contributions,"
my mother and two aunts suffer with
she said.
this terrible disease," Stober said. "My
The rest of Sagamore's fundraising
only hope is that a cure can be found or
machine was in full swing, collectively
a prevention discovered so that more
pulling slightly more than
don't have to suffer. I hope
Stober. "We had a seamto support The Longest Day
less day with an incredible
for many years."
turnout," said club owner
Stober said she was
Silvana Scotto. "So proud
amazed at how many
of my players." Scotto has
people, some of whom she
managed to keep the combarely knew, approached
petition going strong among
her to thank her for her supthe club's various fundraisport of the Alzheimer's Asing teams, even as Stober's
sociation and shared their
team has made it a race for
stories of being affected
second.
by the disease. "I hope that
Ruth Stober
my example will encourage

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2018