KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — This Sunday, the Kalamazoo Walk to End Alzheimer’s fundraiser walk will be taking place at the Kalamazoo College Athletic Fields Complex.
The purpose of the event is to create awareness of the Alzheimer’s disease, which causes memory loss in those afflicted.
Development Manager for the Alzheimer’s Association Amanda Bidinger says the fundraising event is also a support network for those affected by the disease.
“It obviously is a fundraiser, we’re raising funds for programs and services and research on Alzheimer’s, but it’s also an opportunity for people to really come together and support each other,” Bidinger said. “It’s kind of the biggest support group in the community…caregivers, those who have early onset Alzheimer’s, those who have lost someone to Alzheimer’s can come together and realize they are not alone.”
Registration for the all-ages event begins at noon. At 12:45, the event opens with a “Promise Garden Ceremony,” where color-coded pinwheel flowers are distributed depending on how someone is affected.
“The orange flower represents someone who is a supporter of the cause,” Bidinger said. “The yellow flower is for a caregiver or someone who has a loved one with alzheimer’s, then we have the purple flower, meaning you’ve lost someone, and the blue flower which means you yourself have Alzheimer’s or dementia.”
There is also a white flower for the Promise Garden which has a special purpose.
“The white flower represents the first survivor,” Bidinger said. “Right now, where we are with research, we believe that the first survivor is alive today, so a child today could be the first survivor of Alzheimer’s or dementia.”
Participants are invited to write the names of loved ones on the flowers, which are then put together to form a symbolic garden.
“Participants will rise from the bleachers and chairs and start walking over to our start line,” Bidinger said. “They will place flowers all together, so we have a great picture and a great setup of all the different colors of flowers together.”
Following the garden ceremony, a two-mile walk will begin at 1:00 p.m.
The event has been going on since 1989 and has only grown in participation and fundraising since then. Normally, the participants range in the 400’s.
“This year, we actually have a surge in participation,” Bidinger said. “We have a lot of people that participate on site, right now we have 460 registered participants. Last year we had 450 all year by the end of the event, so we’re looking to have over 500 this year.”
At the time of this writing, the organization has raised just over $82,000 of its $100,000 fundraising goal.
Live entertainment will also be provided for the event in the form of local artists.
“New Friends Memory Care & Assisted Living is gonna have their ‘Just Remind Me’ choir, they’ll perform a few songs for us,” Bidinger said. “Loy Norrix Master Singers will perform a few songs for us as well.”
Participants can register online before Saturday evening or at the event the day of. The link to register is https://act.alz.org/site/TR/Walk2019/MI-MichiganGreatLakes?fr_id=12634&pg=entry.
Donations for the cause will be accepted on site. Motorized assistance vehicles are permitted on the course, but citizens are reminded that dogs are not permitted.
