By Ingrid Kundinger
ADAW
The Alzheimer’s & Dementia Alliance of Wisconsin (ADAW) is proud to be celebrating the 19th Annual Dane County Alzheimer’s Walk this year. “Warner Park has been the host of the Dane County Alzheimer’s Walk since the very first walk in 1999,” said Paul Rusk, ADAW’s executive director. “In addition to raising awareness about Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, the walk is a way for people to join together to offer hope and empower one another despite the challenges of this disease. And Warner Park is the perfect location for this important event.”
Why do we walk? The ADAW hosts Alzheimer’s walks in seven counties throughout our service area to raise awareness about the many ways in which we can help people who are impacted by Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia. We walk to show the incredible amount of support that exists in these communities and beyond. We walk to raise funding necessary to continue to provide essential programs and services to those impacted by Alzheimer’s disease.
We invite you to join us for the Dane County Alzheimer’s Walk as we “Step Forward, Give Hope” and make a difference Saturday, Sept. 23, at Warner Park. You can participate as an individual or recruit a team. Teams come in all shapes and sizes, from families to coworkers, faith-based teams to friends and neighbors. Signing up is easy and being a part of this event is fun.
Joining us this year is Dr. Nathaniel Chin who serves as the director of medical services and also as an investigator at the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. Dr. Chin will share an update on the research that is happening right here in Madison as it relates to Alzheimer’s disease and also share his personal experience with dementia.
Rusk stated, “Our community has done a tremendous job of supporting its neighbors by walking and raising funds to make sure innovative programming and experienced staff are available to make this journey a little easier.”
Why will you walk? Have you personally benefited from a program or service we offer? Do you have a loved one living with a dementia-type diagnosis and would like to raise awareness? Are you walking in memory of a loved one? Whatever your reason, we hope you join us and make a difference in the lives of individuals in our community.
Confirmed sponsors of this year’s walk to date include Platinum presenting sponsor Senior Helpers-Madison, Gold sponsors Oak Park Place and UW Health/Unity Health Insurance, Silver sponsor All Saints Neighborhood and Bronze sponsors Attic Angel Community and Culver’s.
Following the walk, everyone is invited to visit the North/Eastside Senior Coalition’s (NESCO) annual AppleFest event at the Warner Park Community Recreation Center. These two events are planned in conjunction with one another each year because of the partnership that exists between ADAW and NESCO.
More than 110,000 Wisconsin residents currently have some form of dementia, a number that is expected to increase. Last year alone, ADAW offered 347 education programs, 165 support group meetings, answered 2,234 helpline calls and held 581 family meetings, totaling 23,400 points of service. For more information or to register for the Dane County Alzheimer’s Walk, visit alzwisc.org or call 888-308-6251 toll-free in Wisconsin or 232-3410 to reach the Madison regional office.