(Spencer)– A special event later this month in Spencer will raise funds and awareness over Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia. Lauren Livingston, Director of Communications for the Iowa Alzheimer’s Association, says they’ll be holding their annual Walk To End Alzheimer’s Saturday, September 23rd at East Leach Park in Spencer…
“So our annual walk to end Alzheimer’s is to help spread awareness about Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia and then of course raise money through the fundraising all the walkers do to put toward research to find new treatments and also for support and resources throughout the state and in Spencer for caregivers and families facing the disease.”
Livingston says there is no fee to register for the walk, but participants are encouraged to seek donations…
“It starts at 8:00 am and there will be registration at 8:00 am and then you can stick around for the opening ceremony and a really neat part of the walk is the Promise Garden Ceremony. There’s different colored flowers that you can choose based on why you’re walking. So for example if you have a loved one that has passed you can choose a purple flower and everyone holds up their flower during the ceremony to show all the reasons why people are walking and fighting against this disease. And then after that short ceremony then you’ll do the walk.”
She adds it’s easy to sign up in advance of the walk…
“You can show up that day but we would love if you registered at alz.org/walk. You can type in your zip code and that will pull up the Spencer walk for you so you can register for that one. You can start a walk team and fundraise and then just show up on the day of the walk.”
Livingston says in Iowa alone, the impacts of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are widespread…
“In the state of Iowa alone there are over 66,000 people who have been diagnosed with the disease and that probably doesn’t count even a lot more people who haven’t been diagnosed yet who may be showing signs already. And then on top of that there’s nearly 100,000 caregivers, those families and friends that are caring for those loved ones living with the disease. So it impacts so many people. It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t have a connection in one way or another.”
Again the September 23rd Walk To End Alzheimer’s will begin at 8:00 am at East Leach Park in Spencer.
***CORRECTION: There is a correction to make to this story. We were given wrong information on the start time. The walk will begin at 8:30 am Saturday, September 23rd, NOT 8:00 am***
