Walk to End Alzheimer's Set for August 20

Tulare and Kings County residents are encouraged to participate in the Alzheimer's Association's Walk to End Alzheimer's on Sunday, August 20, at Valley Strong Ballpark, home of the Visalia Rawhide, before the team's game with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.

"The Rawhide are ecstatic to host the annual Walk to End Alzheimer's at Valley Strong Ballpark this year," said Markus Hagglund, the team's assistant general manager. "Great strides have been made in Alzheimer's research in recent years and that is due in large part to the efforts of the Alzheimer's Association.

"We have had the opportunity to partner with them in recent years and are ecstatic to be able to further use our platform and venue to promote their mission," he added.

"They've been wonderful to work with," said Heather McCarthy, walk manager. "We came up with a proposal and they gave us way more than we asked for."

On Walk Day

Participants will complete a walk and learn about Alzheimer's disease, advocacy opportunities, clinical studies enrollment, and support programs and services from the Alzheimer's Association. Participants will also take part in a tribute ceremony to honor those affected by Alzheimer's disease.

Participants will honor those affected by Alzheimer's with the poignant Promise Garden ceremony - a mission-focused experience that signifies solidarity in the fight against the disease. The colors of the Promise Garden flowers represent people's connection to Alzheimer's - their personal reasons to end the disease.

Purple is for those who have lost someone to dementia, yellow is for people caring for someone with dementia, orange is for those who advocate for the cause, and blue is for people who have dementia.

Registration for the Walk to End Alzheimer's (for those who don't register online) begins at 8 a.m. A 15-minute ceremony is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m.

Although the 2021 walk at Mooney Grove Park, the first since 2019, exceeded expectations in both participation and money raised, last year's walk did not meet its goal of raising $45,000. Only $25,000 was raised.

This year's goal is $24,000 and more than $5,000 has already been raised, mainly through fundraisers, according to McCarthy.

The Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer's is the world's largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer's care, support and research.

To sign up as a team captain or team member, or to register to walk as an individual, visit alz.org/walk. People still concerned about COVID can still participate by walking around their own neighborhoods.

"They can walk wherever they feel comfortable," said McCarthy.

There are also volunteer opportunities, including setting up and taking down booths for walk day, working in the booths, helping with registration, and educating the community about the disease and the walk at events and club meetings.

The committee is also looking for "people to help us make phone calls to get people to register and to reach out to those who helped us in the past," said McCarthy.

For more information, visit alzh.org/walk or call (320) 444-3439.