CART News
Tim Radford Elected VP of Public Image

He previously served as the District 7670 Public Image Chair and is also the Mayor of the Town of Murphy, NC. He also owns a local radio station and is active in many community organizations. We are excited to have Tim on our team!
Franklin (NC) Rotary Club Coin Drop

Naples (FL) Rotary Club Donation

Valdese Rotary Cake Auction
The Rotary Club of Valdese (NC-D7670) held a "cake auction" during a recent meeting to raise funds for CART. And now they have all taken home these jars to collect spare change (and bills!) that they'll return to a future meeting for a "coin drop" to help us #EndALZ.
Dr. Jimmie Williamson Elected CART Secretary

He and his wife Kim are both members of the Rotary Club of Cheraw (SC). We are excited to have his expertise and passion as a member of our Executive Committee!
EVEN BETTER THE SECOND TIME! CART Walk-A-Thon

There was great support from local families, businesses and nonprofits that supported - AND EXCEEDED - the ambitious goal of $100,000! More than $102,000 was raised to be divided between MemoryCare and CART, with a contribution also going to the YMCA.
Partnership with Civic Swag

You can visit their website and learn more here!
CART Receives Million Dollar Donation

If you are interested in making a major gift to fund research for the prevention, treatment or cure for Alzheimer's Disease, or would like to discuss leaving a gift to CART in your estate, please contact Executive Director Tiffany Ervin.
Rotarian/CART Advocate Featured on CBS
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He was featured this weekend on CBS On the Road with Steve Hartman. You can watch the story here.
Larry is the new District CART Chair for District 7710!
What is CART?

Click here to watch and don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Roger Ackerman Circle - Recurring Donor Program

We are so excited to offer this limited-edition lapel pin for donors who commit to a recurring donation of a minimum of $5/month via our online donor portal! If you have already enrolled but haven't yet received your pin, please let us know so we can make arrangements to present it soon!
If you haven't signed up yet, you still can! Just go to mycartfund.org to make a contribution & select “recurring gift” (monthly, quarterly or annually)
Rotary 7750 Changemakers

Rotary District 7730 Changemaker

Photo by Chris Stephenson
Paddle for The Cure Raises $18,000 - Lake Wylie Rotary (SC)

There were lots of activities, including 5K kayak and paddle boat races, a 2K race for the 12-17 year olds, a silent auction, live music, a 50/50, children activities and of course, great food.
Roger Ackerman Circle Welcomes Past RI Director

We appreciate Ken's support of our program and know he will lead the way for others in his district!
Kernersville Rotary/Young Professionals Host 0.0

Net proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to The CART Fund!
Meet Dr. Gopal Thinakaran (Univ. of South Florida)

University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
$250,000 Dr. John Q. Trojanowski Grant
CART Research: Epitranscriptomic Modulation of Tau Pathology through m6A RNA Methylation
Recent advances in large-scale sequence analysis have ignited an interest in the characterization of N6 - methyladenosine (m6 A) RNA modification. The m6 A is the most prevalent RNA methylation in eukaryotes. This RNA modification is initiated by methylases, removed by RNA demethylases, and recognized by m6 A-binding proteins, namely so-called m6 A writers, erasers, and readers. This dynamic and reversible modification has revealed a new dimension to gene expression by regulating protein synthesis, generating protein isoforms by splicing and editing, and modulating RNA lifespan.
You can watch a video of Dr. Thinakaran's presentation here.
Understanding the importance of m6 A modification in brain functions and its potential involvement in brain diseases is a nascent field of study. Recently published studies have predicted that m6 A RNA methylation could be potentially involved in neuronal mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). For example, changes in the levels of m6 A writers, erasers, and readers have been found in individuals with cognitive impairment. Nevertheless, very little is experimentally known about the impact of m6 A modification on AD pathophysiology. The aggregation of misfolded tau protein within tangles in the brain is a pathological hallmark of AD.
A recent study linked small tau aggregates with cellular structures called stress granules, which recruit RNA-binding proteins and m6 A-modified transcripts. Moreover, m6 A is a novel and essential regulator of anti-inflammatory and proinflammatory responses. Thus, there is a compelling rationale for investigating how m6 A modulates AD-associated tau pathology and inflammatory responses. To address the significant knowledge gap in the role of m6 A in AD pathophysiology, we propose focusing on YTHDF1, a key m6 A reader, and investigating the role of m6 A methylation in tau pathogenesis.
Aim 1: To test the hypothesis that YTHDF1 modulates cerebral tau burden and neuroinflammation.
Aim 2: To identify m6 A transcripts that directly bind to YTHDF1 during tau pathogenesis.
A recent study linked small tau aggregates with cellular structures called stress granules, which recruit RNA-binding proteins and m6 A-modified transcripts. Moreover, m6 A is a novel and essential regulator of anti-inflammatory and proinflammatory responses. Thus, there is a compelling rationale for investigating how m6 A modulates AD-associated tau pathology and inflammatory responses. To address the significant knowledge gap in the role of m6 A in AD pathophysiology, we propose focusing on YTHDF1, a key m6 A reader, and investigating the role of m6 A methylation in tau pathogenesis.
Aim 1: To test the hypothesis that YTHDF1 modulates cerebral tau burden and neuroinflammation.
Aim 2: To identify m6 A transcripts that directly bind to YTHDF1 during tau pathogenesis.
Read More
Sumter INSPIRE Festival Honors CART Founder

This year, CART was honored to receive a donation of $6,000 from the festival! The money was designated to TRAC, the administrative arm of CART, to help with operational expenses such as "little blue buckets" and other promotional and fundraising needs.
Learn more about the annual event here.
Rotary Club of Greensboro, NC Donates $30,000 To CART

District Governor Debbie Scott was in attendance for the check presentation, along with CART Board President Rod Funderburk and Executive Director Tiffany Ervin.
Rotary District 7570 Changemaker Award

Roger Ackerman Memorial Grant Awarded - $300,000

CART Research: Integrin mediated communication between endothelial cells and pericytes regulates vascular function in Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the accumulation of misfolded proteins, primarily amyloid beta and tau that lead to cognitive decline. Research focusing on the removal of misfolded protein has only had very limited clinical success, suggesting that other factors are essential to study.
Vascular dysfunction has recently appeared to be a key player in disease pathology, but we still know very little about how vascular function is altered in Alzheimer’s disease and how we can reverse it.
In this project, we have identified that CD49a, a protein of the integrin family, that mediate cell-cell interaction and anchoring of cells within their microenvironment, is a potential regulator of vascular function. With this grant, we will investigate the mechanisms that CD49a uses to regulate vascular function, and interrogate if manipulating CD49a in the brain is a therapeutic strategy to improve clinical symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease.
You can learn more from Dr. Louveau by watching his presentation here.
Rotary magazine - May Issue

You can read it online here.
Rotary District 6920 Changemaker Award

Rotary District 7690 Changemaker

Tom introduced the idea of small clear acrylic donation boxes in his community and recruited a team of volunteers from his Rotary Club to help. By placing these boxes around town, they were able to double their club's donations in the first year and continue to increase them every year. He has served his club and The CART Fund so well over the years and has shared his idea with numerous other Rotary Clubs around the Southeast who were looking for innovative ways to fundraise.
The award was presented by District CART Chair Gary Everhart and Executive Director Tiffany Ervin with many special guests in attendance, including the local newspaper.
Tom is the epitome of a "CART Changemaker" and we were honored to present him with this award.
Rotary District 7710 Changemaker

Larry has played his trumpet in downtown Cary for more than 200 nights, collecting donations from passersby to help fund Alzheimer's research through CART.
The award was presented by District Governor Nathan Thomas and Executive Director Tiffany Ervin with many special guests in attendance.
About three years ago, Larry's wife Georgeann was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. He accepted the role of caregiver and decided to use his talent to raise money for The CART Fund. She often accompanied him downtown until her health required her to move into a memory care unit. She passed away in August of 2022, but Larry continues his nightly trek (six nights a week) downtown to share his favorite Broadway show tunes, hymns and carols with locals and tourists. He never saw caring for his wife as a burden, and remarked he was committed to her "in sickness and in health" until "death do us part."
Not only has Larry raised more than $9,000 for CART through this effort, he has also taken many opportunities to share the CART story with strangers who stop by to make a donation or have a conversation. Larry is the epitome of a "CART Changemaker" and we were honored to present him with this award.