fighting for memories

In my last post, I mentioned how Alzheimer's Disease can effectively turn your loved ones into strangers. With this, post, I'd like to share some information on the Alzheimer's Association and their Memory Walk, which is a walk to raise funds for awareness and research. It is generally 2 or 3 miles in length, and open to people of all ages. They now have walks scheduled in over 600 different communities.

Aside form the "feel good" benefits of participating in such a walk, it can be a lot of fun, as well. There's no reason to walk alone. In fact, you can even start your own team with as few as nine friends or acquaintances. The Alzheimer's Association makes it very easy to do this by offering a PDF guide for team captains, a sign-up sheet, and even a free website that you can set up to promote and track your team recruitment and progress. The Association recommends that each member raise a minimum of $200 to be truly successful.

There are lots of places to find members for your team - at the office, in your neighborhood, at church, or even at the local bar or bowling alley. If you find more than ten people for your team, you can get someone else to sign up as a co-captain, or get someone to start their own rival team. A little bit of competition never hurt anyone, especially when it is for such a good cause.



If you won't be walking or starting your own team as a team captain, make sure to pledge your support for anyone in your area who may be walking. Alzheimer's is an emotionally catastrophic condition that needs to be battled with every bit of financial support we can muster.