Brain Health Auburn Updated May 8, 2026
A Brain Health Initiative

Ways to help end
Alzheimer's.

The science is finally here. FDA-cleared blood tests can detect Alzheimer's before symptoms appear. Effective treatments exist when caught early. What's missing is the public will to make it standard care — and that's where you come in.

Right now

June is Brain Health Month — and we're going to make Auburn glow purple.

Three Mind/Body/Spirit Fridays. The Pinky Promise Challenge. A Purple Party kickoff with a joint Auburn-Opelika mayoral proclamation. Plus a push in early June to get the bipartisan ASAP & AADAPT Acts moved in Congress while I'm at the AIM Advocacy Forum in D.C.

See all ways to help →

Four ways to help, right now.

Pick what fits your time, your voice, or your network. Each takes only a few minutes — and any one of them moves the needle.

01

Sign up for the Walk

Saturday, November 1, 2026. Register or join the AAF team for the East Alabama Walk to End Alzheimer's.

Walk details →
02

Paint the Town Purple

Help us light Auburn and Opelika purple all of June — murals, spotlights, storefronts, social.

June campaign →
03

Message Congress

Two minutes. Pre-written messages on the ASAP & AADAPT Acts. Works from any U.S. district.

Take action →
04

Take the Pinky Promise

Bring Red and Blue together into the Purple Party. Pass the pledge to two more — chain grows from there.

The pledge →
01

Sign up for the Walk to End Alzheimer's

Register as an individual or start a team for the East Alabama Walk to End Alzheimer's on Saturday, November 1, 2026. The Auburn Alzheimer's Foundation could be one of our flagship campus teams — every registration grows our voice and our fundraising base.

Register for the Walk →
02

Paint the Town Purple — June Brain Health Initiative

June is Alzheimer's & Brain Awareness Month. We want Auburn and Opelika to glow purple all month long — purple is the color of the cause, and visible community engagement drives awareness, donations, and policy support.

Where students & community can help
  • Connect with local muralists, art students, or design programs willing to paint a Brain Health mural — high-traffic walls in downtown Auburn or near campus are ideal.
  • Introduce us to business owners or building managers who would shine a purple spotlight on their building for the month of June.
  • Identify storefronts, restaurants, and student hangouts willing to display purple in windows, on social media, or with purple specials.
  • Share purple photos and Brain Health facts on AAF and personal socials all month using #PainttheTownPurple and #ENDALZ.
Email me a lead →
03

Amplify the ASAP & AADAPT Acts in Congress

The first FDA-cleared blood test for Alzheimer's biomarkers is here — it can detect Alzheimer's before symptoms appear, and effective treatments exist when caught early. But Medicare cannot yet cover screening.

The bipartisan ASAP Act creates that Medicare pathway. The AADAPT Act builds the dementia-care workforce we'll need as detection scales. I'm in D.C. June 1–3 for the AIM Advocacy Forum to push both bills forward — we need every voice we can get.

How to help in under two minutes

Visit the AIM Federal Action Center, send pre-written messages to your members of Congress on ASAP and AADAPT — just add your name and ZIP code, hit send. Works from any U.S. district.

Send messages to Congress →
04

The Pinky Promise — Bring On the Purple Party

Brain health belongs to everyone — every campus, every party, every politics. This June we're launching a social media trend to bring Red and Blue together into one Purple Party. The Pinky Promise is how we kick it off.

The Purple Party Pinky Pledge
"My Purple Party Pinky Pledge is to promise to work to prevent Alzheimer's, protect my brain, and pass on this Brain Health Initiative."
Pick your mode, pass it to two
  • In person: find two friends, family, or classmates and record for social media. Shake pinkies as you each say the pledge, then post the video so the shake rides the wave too. They each find two more, and the chain grows.
  • On social: raise your pinky on camera, say the pledge, post it on Instagram, TikTok, X, or wherever you live online — then tag two people to take the pledge next.
  • Use #PurplePartyPledge, #PinkyPromise, and #ENDALZ so we can find and amplify each other.
  • Bonus: pair it with something purple — shirt, lipstick, lighting, drink — anything that makes the Purple Party visible.

Why now.

For decades, Alzheimer's was something we could only diagnose late, treat poorly, and watch take people we loved.

That's changing. Blood biomarker tests cleared by the FDA can detect Alzheimer's before symptoms appear. Disease-modifying treatments exist for the earliest stages. Lifestyle interventions can measurably reduce risk.

What's missing is policy and public will. Medicare can't yet cover early screening. Most primary care offices aren't equipped to recognize early signs. Most families don't know prevention is possible. That's the gap we're trying to close.

7M+
Americans currently living with Alzheimer's. As many as half are not formally diagnosed.
<10%
of people with mild cognitive impairment ever receive a formal diagnosis under current standards.
13M
Americans providing unpaid care for someone with Alzheimer's or related dementia.

I'm Stephanie.

I've been an Alzheimer's Association advocate for over twelve years — as an AIM Ambassador, the founding Tuscaloosa Walk Chair, and now as the 2026 East Alabama Walk Chair and a member of the Alabama Alzheimer's Association Board of Directors.

This isn't abstract for me. I owned a Home Instead Senior Care franchise for thirteen years. I've watched families navigate diagnosis-too-late, and I've seen what early intervention can do. The science has finally caught up — and I'm not willing to wait for the policy to follow without a fight.

This site is where I'm collecting the specific, time-bound ways anyone can help, updated through November 1, 2026 and beyond. If you have an idea, a connection, or a question, please reach out directly.

Dr. Stephanie Buffaloe — Alabama Alzheimer's Association Board · AIM Ambassador · 2026 East Alabama Walk Chair · Business Lecturer, Auburn University
Dr. Stephanie Buffaloe at the Alzheimer's Association Advocacy Forum