Running for Brain Health · Jr. Olympics 2026
Help Shawn Run Toward a Future Without Dementia
Arizona now has the fastest-growing Alzheimer’s rate in the country, and the disease quietly takes root decades before anyone notices, often starting in childhood. This August, Shawn is lacing up for the Jr. Olympics to change that story before it starts. He can’t cross this finish line alone. We’re $8,650 short of our goal, and every mile he runs means nothing without families like yours running beside him.
Lyrics ‘N Leadership™ Institute · 501(c)(3) Nonprofit · Tax ID# 33-4017420
“I run because my brain is worth it.” 🧠
What Your Gift Becomes
A Donation Today Doesn’t Just Cheer Shawn Across a Finish Line
It hands a struggling family a lifeline before dementia ever gets the chance to take root. Here’s exactly where your generosity goes.
📚
Free brain health books
Placed directly into the hands of families who could never otherwise afford them.
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Family education, everywhere
Brought straight into schools, libraries, community centers, and shelters.
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Habits that last a lifetime
Teaching children the movement, creativity, and learning habits that protect their brains for good.
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A healthier Arizona
Growing our state’s Brain Capital movement so every child gets this chance, not just some.
Why We Can’t Wait
The Race Against Time Is Real
Brain disorders are already the leading cause of disability on earth, and the risk factors for dementia begin decades before the first symptom ever shows up. Prevention cannot start in someone’s sixties. It has to start now, in childhood, with families like yours.
Arizona
Fastest-growing Alzheimer’s rate in the entire country is right here at home.
Global Cost
Brain disorders drain an estimated $5 trillion from the world every single year.
Cognitive Reserve
Kids who learn to optimize their brains early grow real, lasting protection against disease later in life.
Hard Truth
Alzheimer’s affects more people than breast and prostate cancer combined, and it starts building in childhood.
The Good News
Up to 80% of strokes and 50% of Alzheimer’s cases are preventable if we start early enough.
Today
Every child we reach now is one less family facing this disease unprepared, later.
Follow The Journey
Shawn’s Road to the Jr. Olympics
Every training morning and every race is one more chance to put brain health in front of families who need to hear it.
Join Team Brain
You Don’t Have to Qualify for the Jr. Olympics to Make a Difference
🏃 You can run.
🚶 You can walk.
📣 You can share Shawn’s story.
💛 You can donate, right now, today.
Help Shawn Reach the Finish Line
Every Dollar Builds a Brighter Brain
Pick the gift that feels right, then picture the family it reaches. Together, we are not just running a race, we are building a future.
We Are Not Just Running a Race
We are building the future, one brain at a time. Shawn is already running. All we’re asking is that you take one small step with him, because every book, every family, and every donation moves us closer to a future where no child grows up not knowing how to protect the most important thing they have.