8/16/07
You can help move a nation to end Alzheimer’s
By Cathy Gilbert

CATHY GILBERT/Manning Times

Despite a brisk wind, last year’s Alzheimer’s Memory Walk was well attended. This year’s event will be held on Oct. 13 at the Council on Aging on Church Street in Manning. The event kickoff is on Thursday, Aug. 23, also at the Council on Aging.

Even though you are one person, you can move a nation. By participating in Memory Walk, the nation’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research programs, you can help move the cause of ending Alzheimer’s disease forward.

Mark your calendars!

The Alzheimer’s Association, South Carolina Chapter, will kick-off the Manning Memory Walk season on Thursday, Aug. 23 at The Council on Aging in Manning from 5:30-7 p.m. Drop by, enjoy dinner provided by D&H Bar-B-Que and learn how you can make a difference in the fight against Alzheimer’s by participating in the 2007 Manning Memory Walk. Find out how to form a team and register for the walk. Talk with walk volunteers to get the inside scoop on how to make your Memory Walk team successful.

Every sixty seconds an American is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease which affects 1 in 10 people over the age of 65; 2 in 10 people over the age of 75 and nearly half of all people over the age of 85. There are over five million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease, nearly 70,000 of them right here in South Carolina. By the year 2050 if no cure is found, the number of people with Alzheimer’s could surpass 16 million, which is more than the current total population of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston combined.

As the prevalence of Alzheimer’s grows, so does the cost to the nation. The direct and indirect costs of Alzheimer’s and other dementias amount to more than $148 billion annually – more than the annual sales of any retailer in the world excluding Wal-Mart.

Please join the Alzheimer’s Association and help MOVE a nation to end Alzheimer’s.

The 2007 Manning Memory Walk will be Oct. 13 at the Council on Aging. The walk will begin at 9 a.m. following a special tribute service to honor and remember those who have been impacted by Alzheimer’s disease.

Memory Walk is planned each year by a dedicated group of volunteers who all share the Alzheimer’s Association’s vision of a world without Alzheimer’s. This year’s chairperson is Peggy Benton, president of the Clarendon Pilot Club.

For more information on the Manning Memory Walk or Kick-off please contact Ashton Baker at (843) 571-2641, or by email at ashton.baker@alz.org.