Walter "Walt" Dawson

Walter "Walt" Dawson (born April 26 1982 in Portland, Oregon) is an Alzheimer's disease activist. He is the son of
British immigrant Cecil Dawson and Oregon native Clara Dawson. cite news
last =
first =
coauthors =
title = Forget Me Knot
work = Street Stories
pages =
language =
publisher = CBS
date = July 31 1993
url =
accessdate = .] As a young boy, Dawson captured the attention of America’s leaders and national media by undertaking a letter writing campaign on behalf of his father and other sufferers of Alzheimer's.cite web
last = Stiles
first = Julia
authorlink = Julia Stiles
coauthors =
title = "Making Waves"
work =
publisher = Zuzu
date = September/October 1995
url = http://www.zuzu.org/waves.html
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-04-27 ] In 1992, Dawson became a national spokesperson for the Alzheimer's Association.cite news
last =
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coauthors =
title = Fighting for memories (10-year-old Walter Dawson is an official spokesperson for the Alzheimer's Association)
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = U.S. Kids
date =
url = http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-16812036.html
accessdate = 2007-04-27] In this role, Dawson traveled to Washington, D.C. several times to testify before the United States Senate and House of Representative committees about his family's experiences.cite news
last = Hamilton
first = Don
coauthors =
title = Oregon Boy Stuns Senators with Dad’s Tale
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = The Oregonian
date = April 21 1993
url =
accessdate = ] While in Washington, Dawson was granted access to several senior legislators and public officials including President Bill Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore.

Overview

Dawson began his letter-writing campaign after the cost of his father’s long care placed the family in serious financial peril. National Public Radio became the first nationwide media outlet to support his original letter-writing campaign, after Dawson (aged 9) read one of his letters on the air.cite news
last =
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coauthors =
title = America Close Up (Medicine: Health Care reform and Walter Dawson)
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = NBC Nightly News/Television News Archives Vanderbilt University
date = April 2 1993
url = http://openweb.tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/1993-4/1993-04-02-NBC-15.html
accessdate = ] Soon afterwards, NBC, CBS and Nickelodeon picked up the story of Dawson's campaign on behalf of his father and other sufferers of Alzheimer's disease.cite news
last =
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title = Families Urge Reform in Long-Term Health Care
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = CNN Headline News
date = April 20 1993
url =
accessdate = ] They covered the Dawson family and their struggle for health care reform over numerous programs, gaining national exposure for the issues that mattered to sufferers of the disease and their families.

Early adulthood

While an undergraduate at the University of Portland, Dawson was elected Student Body Vice-President and served as President of the Student Senate.cite news
last = Schmitt
first = Adam
coauthors =
title = Dawson, Walt’zes’ to Vice Presidency
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = The Beacon
date = March 7 2002
url =
accessdate = ]

References

External links

* [http://www.alz.org/join_the_cause_shelley_fabares_32304.asp Testimony of Shelley Fabares, National Board Member, Alzheimer's Association, March 23, 2004] (mentions Walter Dawson)