Posted on December 7, 2001 at 10:40 a.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — The UAB Center for Aging has teamed up with www.iGive.com to bring holiday shoppers and supporters of the Center a unique way to ring in the research dollars.

By shopping at any of the more than 300 online retailers through iGive.com, consumers can designate the UAB Center for Aging to receive a percentage of the purchase price. The retailer and iGive determine the percentage the retailer gives back from purchases, generally ranging from about 2 to 8 percent of the shopper’s purchase. The iGive Web site is free to join and it features many daily specials from its registered retailers, which include name brand stores like Toys R Us, Disney Store, L.L. Bean, Land’s End, Amazon.com, Target, The Gap/Baby Gap, J.C. Penney and many more.

“The Center for Aging is constantly searching for innovative ways for people to help our cause,” said Martha Frankel, research coordinator for CFA, “and this sounded like a perfect match.”

The UAB Center for Aging is an interdisciplinary community that promotes the health and well being of older persons, Frankel said. Research includes patient-oriented clinical research on genitourinary disorders, mobility problems, Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, vision loss, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, prostate, breast and other age-related cancers; psychosocial research on social, cognitive, and behavioral interventions; basic science research on molecular genetics and cellular biology; and public policy and health services delivery research.

Contributions received from iGive.com will be deposited in the UAB Center for Aging Research and Education Fund. This fund is used to support research activities of faculty who are interested in careers in geriatrics and aging research.

Since it launched in August 1997, iGive has sent more than $872,000 to about 12,000 causes and is on pace to hit $1 million by year’s end. About 8,000 causes will receive money this year via iGive.