Coach Earle Bruce 'pays forward' on Alzheimer’s research

Earle Bruce is perhaps best known as the former head coach of Ohio State's football program. But more recently, the OSU alum has been making waves in the philanthropy world through the Earle and Jean Bruce Alzheimer's Research Fund at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

"I lost my father and my youngest sister to the disease. Now my older sister has it," says Bruce, who himself has been recovering from a mild stroke. He started the fund with his late wife, Jean, in 2011, after seeing the impact of the disease on his loved ones. "It is a horrible disease," Mr. Bruce says. "It's fifth in the country in deaths and I hate to say it, but it's probably growing. It's a terrible disease if you know anything about it."

"My original goal was to raise enough money to bring an Alzheimer's research center to Ohio State," explains Bruce. He helps raise money for Alzheimer's research by traveling across Ohio for various speaking engagements and organizing fundraising events. At the recent 2015 Athletes Against Alzheimer's Radiothon on News Radio 610 WTVN, where he works as a college football analyst, more than $102,000 was raised for Alzheimer's research.

To date, Mr. Bruce has helped raise more than $1 million to combat Alzheimer's disease. Funds raised support drug therapies for the treatment of degenerative disorders, social work and outreach for affected families, imaging trials and research to detect early dementia at the earliest stages through the Memory Disorders Research Center at Ohio State's Wexner Medical Center.

Thanks to Earle Bruce, his generosity and actions are "Paying Forward" to help in the fight to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease.