Walk to End Alzheimer’s see changes

This year’s event to have physical, virtual elements

Purple Alzheimer’s shirts will be seen in Lake and Geauga counties on Sept. 13 as participants in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s show their support for Alzheimer’s research, care and support.

Walkers in next month’s Lake and Geauga Counties Walk to End Alzheimer’s, locally presented by Lake Health, will also have new tools to enhance the Walk experience, according to a news release.

Registration is now open for this year’s walk and while the Alzheimer’s Association is not gathering a large crowd because of novel coronavirus restrictions, participants are encouraged to walk individually or in small groups in their neighborhoods to join the movement.

“We wanted to provide participants multiple ways to support the ongoing needs of families facing Alzheimer’s disease, so we have found a way for people to walk safely or people can just fund raise and make a donation without walking,” Katie Mang, vice president of fund development for the Cleveland Area Chapter, said in the release.

“This year the choice of how to participate is up to you and we appreciate the hundreds of people who have already signed up to join us on that day,” she said.

This year’s event chair is Annie Naples, marketing director/health coach for Synergy Physical Therapy and Wellness.

The goal is to raise $203,000.

Last year about 1,200 people participated at Lake Metroparks Farmpark in Kirtland, the release stated. This year, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Farmpark will be the site of the drive-by viewonly Promise Garden location, locally presented by Tapestry Senior Living.

The Walk Ceremony, with the traditional Promise Garden Ceremony, will occur at 10 a.m. and will be livestreamed.

People can go to http:// act.alz.org/kirtlandwalk to register for the event.

Mang encouraged participants to download the Walk to End Alzheimer’s app because the Association will use the app to livestream parts of the Walk program on Sept. 13.

On Walk Day, participants are encouraged to:

• Log onto Mainstage, the event’s interactive online experience

• Livestream the opening Promise Garden Ceremony

• Walk in your neighborhood

• Track your steps using the app

• Visit the Promise Garden location.

The Lake and Geauga Counties Walk to End Alzheimer’s is one of four Walks the Cleveland Area Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association is having this year, the release stated.

Last year about 6,400 Northeast Ohio residents, living in the five counties that the chapter serves, participated in the walk.

Alzheimer’s is a progressive, fatal disease that kills nerve cells and tissues in the brain, affecting an individual’s ability to remember, think and plan.