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Gary Kitchen wants to give family caregivers a break!  Seriously!  Born in Pennsylvania, and growing up in Louisville, Kentucky, Gary attended the University of Louisville on a Navy scholarship.  After college, he was the Communications Officer on a Destroyer, and then the Executive Officer on a Minesweeper.  After all that excitement, Gary decided to settle down a bit and took a job with Kroger.  Though only with Kroger for about ten years, Gary spent the rest of his career in and around the grocery business.

Gary moved to Atlanta in 1972, About eight years ago, his mother moved from Pennsylvania down to Atlanta.  Having Alzheimer’s, she came down to live with Gary.  After about three years, he found he could no longer adequately care for her, so he moved her to an assisted living community.  Wanting to help out, Gary started holding a charity golf tournament to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association.  After his mother passed, he decided to take the momentum he had gained with the golf tournament, and create a non-profit foundation, honoring his mother, and providing assistance to family caregivers coping with a loved one with Alzheimer’s.  About a year ago, Gary retired from his “paying job” to run this organization, “The Laona M. Kitchen Foundation.”  This organization is staffed entirely with volunteers, and exists exclusively to fund respite for families that need a break from caring for their loved one.  To find out more about the Laona M. Kitchen Foundation, or to apply for a break, check out their website at www.lmkfoundation.org, or call Gary at 404-428-1267.

We want to thank Griswold Home Care for sponsoring today’s show.  Griswold Home Care has been a preferred provider of high quality, affordable in-home senior care in Atlanta for more than 20 years.