Our Story

About Us

Stop Alzheimer’s Now was founded in 2013 by Shaun and Kristin McDuffee to help find a cure for this devastating disease. Both of Shaun’s parents passed away from Alzheimer’s in 2017, but he “lost” them years before due to the illness that slowly deteriorated their minds and memory.

Shaun wanted to make a difference by donating money to organizations fighting to find a cure for Alzheimer’s.
He looked at the large national associations supporting Alzheimer’s, and as a Financial Advisor, he was interested in their balance sheets. While recognizing the many great things these organizations do to support Alzheimer’s patients and caretakers, Shaun was surprised to learn how little of the money raised actually went to research to find a cure. During this research, Shaun often found a significant percentage of money was allocated to operations or other costs for these organizations. Because of this, he and his wife Kristin decided to start the Stop Alzheimer’s Now Foundation (SAN) with the goal of 100% of money raised being directed to research institutions and key scientists fighting to find a cure.

"When my parents were initially diagnosed with the disease I didn’t understand it, and there was very little information out there. People didn’t talk about the disease, yet everywhere I looked people were being impacted, or knew people being impacted. It a horrible disease as it steals the dignity of those afflicted and places a huge burden on the caregivers."

— Shaun McDuffee, Founder of Stop Alzheimer's Now

What We Do

Stop Alzheimer's Now is an “angel investor” for top Alzheimer’s researchers nationally who are unable to secure funding from larger pools of money like the National Institute of Health. These researchers are often working on high-risk/high-reward concepts and need initial funds to establish proof of concept before they can secure larger grants.

To date, SAN has raised nearly $750,000.00 for Alzheimer's research. We have funded research projects at the University of Kansas, the University of Florida, Oregon Health Sciences University and Temple University.

Most research points to lifestyle and diet as key contributors in staving off the disease. Because of this, SAN has chosen to focus our efforts on partnering with active communities, like pickleball, which is massively expanding in participation and passion. We have been able to connect with many people in the pickleball community who have expressed strong interest in helping us fund a cure!

If you are interested in hosting a local event, please email [email protected].

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Walk Across the USA

When Shaun founded Stop Alzheimer’s Now, his initial goal was to walk across the United States to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s. As he and a group of associates began their first 108-mile trek from Cape Cod to Rhode Island, they encountered many people with their own stories of how the disease had impacted their lives. Over the years the goal changed from walking across the country to walking in as many states as possible. Before shifting focus, SAN spend time in 17 states totaling more than 1000 miles walked and more than $500,000 raised!