Natick Teen Awarded $36,000

The hard work of Max Wallack in creating a nonprofit to benefit those with Alzheimers has netted him recognition and $36,000.
“I’m so gratified to be able to support the creativity and passion of these remarkable teens. And I hope the Awards will inspire teens—and adults—to take action to improve the world around them,”said Helen Diller, president of the Helen Diller Family Foundation.“We are so pleased that beginning this year we areable to recognize teens not just from California, but from across the entire U.S. and that our contribution will support the teens’important work and impact."
Wallack was among 10 recipients of the 2013 Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards. The teens haveprovided uniquesolutionstosome of our world’s most critical social issues by developing projectsthat support social justice, equality andeducation, environmental sustainability and engagement opportunities for their peers, according to a press release from the organization. 
Wallack's project nonprofit provides puzzles to those living with Alzheimer's as a therapeutic tool. He witnessed his great-grandmother’s decline with Alzheimer’s first-hand and discovered that puzzles had a therapeutic effect and contributed to her sense of accomplishment, according to the release. He launched PuzzlesToRemember to give other Alzheimer’s patients an opportunity to feel the sametherapeutic relief his great-grandmother felt. He has raised significant funds and coordinated countless collection drives to support the distribution of more than 23,000 puzzles to 2,000 nursing facilities around the world.
Wallack is a 17-year-old junior studying neuroscience at Boston University and actively researching Alzheimer’s and will be presenting findings at an upcoming conference, according to the organization.