Meet Community Engagement Manager Jason

I am Jason Abady, the newest staff member at the Alzheimer’s Association here in Central Ohio. My official title is “Community Engagement and Development Support Manager,” but that is basically is a long way of saying that I coordinate volunteers in community events, and help in any way that I can to make the Columbus Walk a success. I am really excited to be a part of the Alzheimer’s Association team, and everyone has been really great to work with. The whole team is passionate about fighting Alzheimer’s and continually goes above and beyond to make sure that the people who need our help are able to get it.

I came to the Alzheimer’s Association after being a middle school and high school band director for the past seven years. I am excited that I get to work with the Association because I love being able to make an impact in something that I am passionate about. My grandpa, Wayne, has Alzheimer’s Disease, and my great grandpa, Fiore, died from the disease in 2003. I have seen what the disease can do to a person and to a family, as I am sure you all have too. I am ready to be on the team that puts an end to this disease once and for all.

One of the main facets of my job is coordinating volunteers for outreach events and for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s. This year, the Alzheimer’s Association will have a presence at more than 20 community events across Columbus. We have already been to Pride Weekend, Dublin 4th of July Parade, New Albany Farmers Market and much more. At each one of these outreach events, I am stunned at the show of support and the connections that we make in the course of a few hours. Without fail, each event brings us together with people who either need our support, have lost someone to Alzheimer’s, or are just ready for the world to be rid of the disease. Last week, we even had a woman who read our “Know the 10 Signs of Alzheimer’s” literature and eventually confided in our volunteers that she thinks she has the disease herself. These powerful moments would not happen without our presence in the community. Come join me at an outreach table and see the impact for yourself.

Finally, we all know that the Walk to End Alzheimer’s is right around the corner. I do know that the Walk is not your signature event though- you guys make RivALZ a huge success year in and year out. Even though the Walk isn’t where you focus your biggest efforts, I am thrilled that the J.C. is putting on the “Paddle for a Purpose” fundraiser. That’s going to be an awesome event and will hopefully bring in a great donation for the Walk. Yoga and paddleboarding on a private beach? Yeah, sign me up. If you are unable to make it to Paddle for a Purpose, I encourage you to join the J.C. Walk Team to participate at the Walk. Join the team and blast the information out on your Facebook, and you will see the donations start rolling in from people you haven’t even seen in 10 years. If you want to make an impact at the Walk, but you are tapped out on fundraising because of RivALZ, then you can help out by volunteering on Walk Day. The Junior Committee will have their own table set up to recruit new members, but you can also help out in a number of ways as a volunteer for the Association. Passing out water, guiding Walkers on the route, helping set up for the day- all of these things are great ways to make the Walk a success without having to ask your friends and family for more money. Check out our VolunteerHub for all of the listings here: Walk Day Volunteers 2018.

Thank you for all of the things that you do in the fight against Alzheimer’s. You are a really special organization- not a lot of Young Professionals are committed to giving so much of their time and energy to a cause in their free time. I am really excited to work with you all!