The Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza was bursting with life and music as participants in the annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s waited for the walk to start on Saturday.
The Walk to End Alzheimer’s is a national event put on by the Alzheimer’s Association to raise awareness and collect funds for Alzheimer’s disease research and treatment.
The walk began at 9:30 a.m, with pre-race festivities starting two hours before. Participants could choose between a one-mile or three-mile course and could stay after the walk for a “garden party” complete with music, food, and a photo booth.
The family-friendly event had a large number of sponsors and organizations providing support for Alzheimer’s. They had booths as part of the pre-race activities in an effort to let the community know more about their resources.
One of these organizations was the Early-Stage Partners in Care (EPIC) hosted at Arizona State University’s Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation. EPIC provides services for both those suffering from Alzheimer’s and their loved ones.
“We came here to promote our services,” Abi Gomez of EPIC said. “It’s our way of giving a little bit more to the people we are trying to help. This is the perfect place to let people know that we are here for them as well.”
Gomez said that while she has personally met people suffering from Alzheimer’s through her work, not everyone at the walk was personally affected by the disease. Nonetheless, she believes attending the walk can be a great way for anyone to show support for members of the community who are suffering.
“This event is so important to us because it impacts everyone’s lives,” she said. “It’s important to raise more awareness and to let the community know that together we will be able to find a cure. When people come together, we will hopefully reach a point where we can eradicate the disease.”
Kora Cruz of the Sigma Kappa sorority at ASU shared Gomez’s sentiment. She noted that fundraising for Alzheimer’s can be challenging when people don’t have a personal tie to the disease; therefore, she believes that attending the event and meeting people who are affected by Alzheimer’s can be a way for the community to show support.
“The Alzheimer’s Association is our sorority’s national philanthropy, but I came to this event because it’s a great cause to show your support for people who are suffering from Alzheimer’s,” Cruz said. “I feel like it’s a great way to get to know everyone and hear their stories.”
Her sorority sister Noelle Durning added that one way of seeing everyone’s story is through the Flower Ceremony. Participants raise either a blue, purple, orange or yellow flower and each has its own meaning.
Blue flowers are for those with Alzheimer’s or dementia, purple is for those who have lost a loved one to the disease, yellow is for those currently caring for someone with the disease, and orange is for everyone else who is there to show their support.
“The ceremony is really meaningful because everyone is out here for a different reason, but we’re all coming together,” Durning said. “At the end, we all put our flowers in the ground and it shows a garden that is a rainbow of different colors, but it represents how we are all coming together to support a unified cause.”
Contact the reporter at ilschnei@asu.edu.
