"Walk to end Alzheimer's" on Saturday

Upper Michigan will join more than 600 communities this weekend in the nation’s largest charity event, the walk to end Alzheimer’s.  The U–P  Alzheimer’s Association  will host “The Walk To End Alzheimer’s” Saturday.

The walk will start at the YMCA.  The organization is expecting more than 300 people to take part in the walk.  Participants will travel from the Y to the Mattson Lower Harbor Park and make the loop back to the YMCA.  Registration for the event starts Saturday at 9 a–m.

All the donations raised this Saturday will stay in the Upper Peninsula. Some of the money is earmarked to fund a new program for people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s.

World Alzheimer’s Month is your chance to join the global fight against Alzheimer’s disease.  Together with the Alzheimer’s Association, you can raise awareness about Alzheimer’s by wearing purple on Friday, September 21, 2012!  Be sure to tell viewers why Alzheimer’s awareness is important to you.  It’s easy to “Go Purple”- wear a purple tie, a purple scarf, a purple pocket square, or purple jewelry!

Alzheimer’s Facts:

  • September is World Alzheimer’s Month.
  • September 21 is Alzheimer’s Action Day.
  • There are more than 35 million people worldwide living with dementia and more than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease  (196,000 people in Michigan are living with Alzheimer’s disease) – the most common form of dementia.
  • Alzheimer’s disease is the only cause of death among the top ten in the U.S. without a way to prevent, cure or even slow its progression.
  • To change the way we look at Alzheimer’s, we have to begin to understand the challenges that people with the disease face every day. That includes the stigma that often comes with a diagnosis.
  • People living wih Alzheimer’s and their caregivers may experience stigma if their family and friends withdraw, they find a lack of acceptance in the workplace and from jokes in pop culture.
  • For more information about Alzheimer’s and how to overcome stigma, visit alz.org.