Natasha Randeniya
Staff Writer
In Hermosa Beach on Oct. 1, the Walk to End Alzheimers was held where people had the chance to walk to help raise money to end Alzheimers.
The event held 386 participants and 64 teams to help raise money. The goal was $160,000 and $152,661 was raised. At 10 a.m., the beginning ceremony took place at the Hermosa pier followed by the Ribbon cutting and walk.
“The walk was a great way to raise money to end Alzheimers and it was great to see everyone gathered when the ceremony began before we started walking,” said sophmore Indie Koehn.
The funds that are raised at the walk will further the care, support and research of Alzheimers, according to the efforts of the Alzheimer’s Association. The Alzheimer’s Association is a nonprofit organization which is a great way to raise money.
“My daughter and I had a great time volunteering for the Alzheimer’s walk, along with several other members of our local NCL chapters,” said volunteer Jessica Geiger. “We helped guide the walkers along the route, and cheered for them as they finished, which brought out a lot of happy faces.”
Each registered participant received a Promise Garden flower, a flower that participants walk with representing 4 categories. Blue represents someone living with Alzheimers or another dementia, purple is for those who have lost someone to the disease, yellow represents someone who is currently supporting or caring for a person living with Alzheimers, and orange is for those who support the cause and the Association’s vision of a world without Alzheimers and all other dementia.
“I enjoyed volunteering for the Alzehiemers walk a lot,” said Hermosa Valley student Scarlett Amar.
“I loved the people’s faces when they finished and I would do it again because I think this is a great way to raise money for Alzehiemers research, because it’s easy to register and do.”
Throughout the walk, there were volunteers and people cheering the walkers on. There were also characters dressed up and volunteers holding signs to try to bring the energy level up from the participants.
“Seeing all the volunteers and characters’ enthusiasm and encouragement made the walk start off fun,” said freshman Charlotte Rollman.
The walk to end Alzhiemers is planning to host another in person event this fall to raise more money to help end Alzhiemers. People now have the opportunity to sign up to walk in person or at home.
“Lots of people who were just out on the strand stopped to see what was going on and asked us about it,” said Geiger. “The registered walkers were not only those with Alzheimers, but also families, friends, caregivers, nurses and more.”
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