“We like to call the walk our biggest support group because it’s kind of a chance for our people who are impacted by Alzheimer’s to come together and share with other people, and to just spend a morning with other people who are in the same boat as them,” said Sarah Frank, organizer.
The Springfield/Urbana Walk is a fundraiser for research and for the Alzheimer’s Association to provide free care and support services to families. The goal is to raise $60,000.
As stated in a press release, the Walk to End Alzheimer’s will be “full of flowers, each carried by someone committed to ending the disease. The Promise Garden Ceremony will feature multi-color flowers, with each color representing each person’s connection to Alzheimer’s — their personal reasons to end the disease.” The display “unites participants in the fight against Alzheimer’s, and honors those affected by it.”
“We’ll have a walk, we’ll have a deejay, we’ll have an emcee. We’ll also have a thing called the Promise Garden Ceremony, and there we’ll have different colored pinwheel flowers, which each represent a different connection to the disease. Here, people are able to see who is all with them, and who is in the same situations as them. We do interviews and it’s pretty powerful,” said Frank.
Nancy Wilson from K99.1 FM emcees the event. The fundraiser, formerly known as the “Memory Walk,” has been part of Springfield for over 15 years and usually attracts a large crowd.
“Right now we have about 215 people registered, which is a little different because of COVID. We’ve had upwards of 800 to 1,000 people participate in Springfield in years past, but I’ve heard from some of our long-term care facilities that this year they don’t want to risk anything,” said Frank.
Attendees will be expected to wear a mask in crowded areas..
“We do have COVID guidelines in place, and we do ask that our volunteers and supporting staff are vaccinated or have had a negative COVID test beforehand. We will have masks available, we’ll have hand- sanitizing stations. We shifted our Promise Garden Ceremony. It’s usually a little longer than this year, just because we don’t to have a whole lot of people congregating in the same spot at one time,” Frank said.
An option to “Walk From Home” as an individual or in teams in neighborhoods is also available during registration online. Those who choose to walk from home can still engage in many walk-day experiences through the Walk to End Alzheimer’s mobile app that can be downloaded through the App Store or Google Play by searching “Walk to End Alzheimer’s.”
“We kind of have a rolling start time, you don’t have to start all at the same time for the walk, even though the walk has a start time. If you want to walk after that or before that, or be kind of staggered, you can do that as well. We’re trying to keep certain protocol in place,” said Frank.
Maps and the walk route will be emailed to those who register to participate.
To register, visit https://act.alz.org/site/TR/Walk2021/OH-MiamiValley?fr_id=14705&pg=entry.
The event is sponsored by The Ohio Masonic Home, Assurant and Forest Glen Health Campus.
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