Impact

More than 500,000 Canadians are currently living with dementia and that number is expected to nearly double by the year 2030. Every year, more than 25,000 Canadians are diagnosed with dementia and one fifth of our population has experienced caring for someone with the disease. Worldwide, 50 million people are living with dementia — and there are nearly 10 million new cases each year, according to the World Health Organization. What’s more, there are currently no medications that can cure Alzheimer’s disease or stop it from progressing. Still, there is hope.

 

By participating in Bike for Brain Health, you'll be raising vital funds to help Baycrest in its work to defeat dementia. These critical funds will be directed toward areas that require timely investments for care, innovation, education and research at Baycrest – all with the same goals: creating a world where every older adult enjoys a life of purpose, inspiration and fulfilment. Join Bike for Brain Health so that we can all Fear No Age!

Some more stats1 on dementia in Canada:

Billion Dollars

It costs Canadians approximately $12 billion annually to care for those living with dementia

%

56% of Canadians are concerned about being affected by Alzheimer’s disease

%

46% of Canadians admit they would feel ashamed or embarrassed if they had dementia

%

87% of caregivers wish that more people understood the realities of caring for someone with dementia

Your participation means more than you know!
YOU are helping to change the future of brain health. With every dollar you raise, every person you engage about the cause and every kilometre you'll ride in this event... YOU are directly impacting the more than 500,000 Canadians who currently live with dementia, and all those who care for them.

Your fundraising helps support many initiatives at Baycrest that impact the lives of older adults in our community, including the following:

  • The Kimel Family Centre for Brain Health and Wellness, where scientific research converges with evidence-based treatments and strategies, integrating brain health workshops, physical fitness, nutrition, sensory and cognitive training, arts programs, and social engagement for older adults. Staff creates personalized brain health prescriptions to help every older adult live longer and healthier. Learn more about the centre here.
  • Developing non-invasive therapeutic tools that can be used both in-clinic and at a patient’s home to maintain and improve brain health. This work is being conducted by Dr. Jean Chen at Baycrest’s Rotman Research Institute. Dr. Chen is an expert in the field of heart-brain connection and the use of MRI technology to assess brain health.
  • Creation of Baycrest's Centre for Education Health Information portal. Did you know that 80% of older Canadians have low health literacy levels? This portal provides our older adult community members easy access to brain health education resources with excellent navigation and usability. Research shows that getting people the right information in the right way at the right time leads to better health outcomes, especially when it comes to living with long-term conditions such as dementia, diabetes, heart disease and depression.
  • Advancements in brain health innovation such as the expansion of Virtual Reality therapies to help older adults socialize, go on virtual vacations and enter worlds of engaging sights, sounds, and adventures, that would be unknown to them under other circumstances.
  • Support Culture and Arts programming at Baycrest, such as the mobile art cart, which offers a unique approach to art as a meaningful therapy tool and as a primary medium of communication. With your help, we bring the beauty and power of art to those who are immobile or would otherwise not be able to access this  specialized programming.
  • The Leap program for older adults facilitated by the Baycrest-led Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation (CABHI). The Leap platform is a virtual community centre, where older adults and their caregivers are empowered to become agents of change in the innovation ecosystem. One current Leap pilot program is providing important financial skill sets to older adults for life in the 21st century through interactive workshops, "Ask the Expert" events, short videos and other customized learning experiences

(1information courtesy Alzheimer Society of Canada)

About Baycrest

Baycrest is a global leader in aging and brain health with a vision of a world where, with your help, we can all Fear No AgeTM.

Baycrest is an academic health sciences centre fully affiliated with the University of Toronto.

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CONTACT:

Bike Team
Event Managers
bikeforbrainhealthDVP@baycrest.org
416-785-2500 x 6413 OR
416-785-2500 x 2558

  

 
MEDIA REQUESTS:

Orsolya Soos
Marketing Manager
OSoos@baycrest.org
647-883-9515