Staff Reports
The Columbus Walk to End Alzheimer’s plans to move forward Sunday, but things will look different.
Instead of hosting a large gathering, the Alzheimer’s Association Greater Indiana Chapter is encouraging participants to walk as individuals or in small groups on sidewalks, tracks and trails.
“This year’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s will be everywhere,” said Natalie Sutton, executive director of the Greater Indiana Chapter. “The pandemic is changing how we walk, but it doesn’t change the reason we walk,” she said. “We need to come together to support all those affected by Alzheimer’s and other dementia.”
In the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic, she said the chapter provided more than 100 education programs and caregiver support groups online and by phone free of charge to residents across the state.
“With the dollars raised during walk, we can continue to provide care and support to families during these difficult times while also advancing critical research toward methods of treatment and prevention,” Sutton said.
Time-honored components of the Walk to End Alzheimer’s are being replicated. On walk day, an opening ceremony will feature local speakers and a presentation of Promise Flowers to honor the personal reasons participants join together to fight Alzheimer’s and all other dementia, all delivered to participants’ computers.
A small group of Alzheimer’s Association staff and volunteers will create the iconic Promise Garden in a view-only format from noon to 4 p.m. at Hamilton Community Center and Ice Arena to honor all of those impacted by Alzheimer’s.
To enhance the participant experience leading up to the event and on walk day, new features are being added to the Walk to End Alzheimer’s mobile app to create an opportunity for the community to connect.
Participants can use the app and new Walk Mainstage to track their steps and distance, follow a virtual walk path, manage their Facebook fundraisers and access information and resources from the association and walk sponsors to help individuals and families affected by the disease. A new audio track is available to encourage participants along the way and to congratulate them upon completion of their walk.
“Alzheimer’s is not taking a hiatus during COVID-19, and neither are we,” said Kyle Davern, manager of the Columbus Walk to End Alzheimer’s.
“We must continue Walk to End Alzheimer’s, and we are working with all participants to ensure they have a powerful and moving experience that is felt when we are together,” he said. “Many of our constituents are at higher risk when it comes to COVID-19, and we know that our volunteers and participants appreciate our commitment to keeping all involved healthy and safe.”
More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. Additionally, more than 16 million family members and friends provide care to people living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. In Indiana, there are more than 110,000 people living with the disease and 342,000 caregivers.