The late Nancy Hamon was a magnificent example of philanthropy. She lavished funds on various nonprofits from the arts to healthcare. Advising her over the years was attorney Jack Roach. Before she died in July 2011 at the age of 92, she established the Hamon Charitable Foundation to continue her philanthropic legacy. And, of course, Jack was a Foundation officer.
Today it was announced that the Foundation has created a $10M endowment “to support the new Laura and Jack Roach Center for Translational Research in Alzheimer’s Disease” at UT Southwestern. The endowment was establish to “honor the Roaches after Laura [Roach] was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.”
Thanks to the gift, UT Southwestern will be able research better ways to treat Alzheimer’s and “delay its onset from the laboratory into clinic practice.”
Hamon Charitable Foundation President Kelly Roach explained, “We’re hoping for a cure and that researchers can slow progression of the disease. We believe $10 million will get us a step closer in the right direction. It’s a difficult disease to watch – they call it ‘the long goodbye.’ We hope other families don’t have to experience what we’re experiencing.”
While some consider Alzheimer’s to be an older person’s disease, its effect touches the patient’s family and friends of all ages. Amazingly, 90% of the developments in diagnosing and treating Alzheimer’s has been made in the past 20 years.
According to UT Southwestern President Daniel Podolsky, “This magnificent gift from the Hamon Charitable Foundation will strengthen the infrastructure for translational research within the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute. Already, work at UT Southwestern is leading to promising new therapies for Alzheimer’s disease. A strengthened translational research program will bridge the gap between scientific discovery and clinical care and accelerate progression between today’s medical challenges and tomorrow’s cures.”
Thanks to Nancy Hamon’s philanthropy and her relationship with Jack Roach, her support of her adopted hometown continues.
* Photo provided by UT Southwestern