The annual Northwest Arkansas Walk to End Alzheimer's is Saturday in Rogers.
The fundraiser is one of 600 such walks that take place throughout the year across the country. Ian Shuttleworth, walk manager for the Arkansas chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, says the fundraising goal this year for the Northwest Arkansas walk is $140,000.
“We’re currently sitting, as of Monday morning, at $89,000 — about 65% of the way to that goal,” Shuttleworth says.
He expects between 700 and 850 participants at Village on the Creeks in Rogers Saturday afternoon. He says he and his colleagues want to make the Walk to End Alzheimer’s a hopeful event
“To show where we are with this disease. Right now, we’re in a place of hope. We have medications that are becoming available. So we say that we’re in the era of treatment and the era of hope. Our goal is to make this event — it’s obviously a fundraiser; we do not shy away from the fact that it’s a fundraiser — but this event is so much more than that. It’s an awareness raiser. It really helps people know what the disease is. But also it’s a friendraiser.
“We often call our Walk to End Alzheimer’s events the largest support group in the state for Alzheimer’s because it’s not often that people are able to get around 500, 600 other people that are experiencing some of the same experiences they’re dealing with at their own homes. So it’s a very hopeful event — that’s what we want to make it.”
Shuttleworth says such a gathering can also be instrumental in sharing news about research showing that lifestyle choices can make a difference — and that can mean a change in the progression of the disease.
The walk is Saturday, but he says there is still time to register before the event. And importantly, participation is free.
“I’ve said it’s a fundraiser, so we do encourage our participants to fundraise, but it’s completely free to register a team or to register as a participant. We don’t want that to be a barrier for anyone to come out and actually participate on the day of the event.”
One more tip if you’re walking this weekend — maybe wear purple.
“Purple is our color. You’ll see a lot of purple on walk day. We’ve even had some incentives this year — people are going to be wearing their purple T-shirts that they’ve earned through fundraising. We’ll have people wearing purple shoes, purple shoelaces. I know I sent out some purple sunglasses to a good amount of participants. So purple is the color to wear.”
Money raised through the Walk to End Alzheimer’s funds free resources distributed by the Arkansas chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.
More details about the walk on Saturday and about the organization can be found on their website.
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