The date was July 31st, 2002. The 38-year-old Duke graduate from Greensboro, North Carolina was living and working in Jerusalem. She was employed in the Archives and History Department of the library at Hebrew University. She stopped off at The Frank Sinatra cafeteria for a bite to eat before taking a Hebrew language literacy exam which would open the door for her to explore new opportunities within the University. She had no idea that the actions of a terrorist group would prevent her from taking that exam by taking her life.
Diane Carter was needlessly taken that day, along with many others, by a terrorist bomb attack. To honor her memory, The Diane Carter Memorial Fund was created. The mission of the fund is to support causes that The Trustees feel Diane would approve. The Coins for Alzheimer’s Research Trust (CART) was recently honored to accept a $15,000 donation from The Diane Carter Memorial Fund as one of those causes.
As the epidemic of Alzheimer’s grows worldwide, the need to secure monies for research to find a cure or prevention is more important now than ever. A new case of Alzheimer’s is diagnosed every 66 seconds in the United States and every 4 seconds around the world. The mortality rate for at home caregivers is 71% greater than it is for non-caregivers of the same age. And the current annual cost of care of those with Alzheimer’s in the US is estimated to be anywhere from 125 to 150 billion dollars; more than twice the annual cost of cancer care.
Every dollar that is donated to CART goes directly to Alzheimer’s research. CART is a project of The Rotary Clubs of North America. On behalf of the more than 700 Rotary Clubs that support CART, we wish to extend our appreciation to The Diane Carter Memorial Fund for their vision, awareness and generosity.