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Walk to End Alzheimer’s returns to Rehoboth Oct. 12

Registration now open for teams, individual walkers, volunteers
September 24, 2013

As many as 500 supporters will put on their purple, gather at Rehoboth Beach and take part in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s Saturday, Oct. 12. Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m.

The Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the Alzheimer’s Association Delaware Valley Chapter’s signature fundraiser. The dollars WTEA participants raise help fund caregiver support groups, early-stage initiatives, consumer education, community outreach, and many other programs and services the chapter offers to as many as 26,000 people in Delaware and their families who are affected by Alzheimer’s or a related disorder.

“We encourage prospective walkers to gather their friends, family members and colleagues, and create a walk team and register their team online,” said Delaware Walk Coordinator Jaclyn Adkins. “People may also register as an individual walker and/or sign up as a volunteer. For those who cannot make it in person, but would still like to support the walk, they can register as a virtual walker.”

Registration and more information are available at alz.org/desjsepa, or by calling the Delaware Valley Chapter’s 24/7 helpline at 800-272-3900 for assistance.

This year, several volunteers at the walk site and on the Rehoboth Boardwalk will hand out Alzheimer’s Association Advocacy sign-up cards for walkers who’d like to become advocates, contacting and meeting with local and state lawmakers to encourage them to make Alzheimer’s legislation a priority.

Walkers will also, once again, be treated to the soft rock sounds of Imagine. The group’s members, Gail Garner and John St. Jean, plan to commemorate their 10th year performing at the Rehoboth walk with a newly released CD, "Imagine...Loving You Always." It includes covers of 22 love songs and features nine decades of musical styles.

“We’re asking a minimum $5 donation,” said Garner. “Every penny goes directly to the Alzheimer's Association with Imagine absorbing the material and production costs.”

Every 68 seconds, someone in the United States develops Alzheimer’s, a degenerative brain disease that affects more than 5 million people across the country. Approximately 200,000 are younger than 65, and although it is rare, some of them are as young as 30. Alzheimer’s, the most common cause of dementia, is the nation’s sixth-leading cause of death, and the only major leading cause of death that does not have a cure, or a way to prevent or slow its symptoms. The disease causes severe memory loss, confusion, and changes in thinking and behavior.

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