She didn't. I'm not sure she even remembered me.
It was the beginning of her battle with Alzheimer's. Since then she's had to be put in a special home, and most days she hardly knows her own children.
Apparently, Memory Walk is an annual awareness- and fund-raising event that's been put on annually by the Alzheimer's Association since 1989, but this is the first year that I've heard of it. Now that I have, I want to spread the word. I'm not able to walk, but I'd love to sponsor a participant. Unfortunately, there's not a local event in my state, but if you're walking, leave a comment to let me know, and I'll sign up to sponsor you. I can only afford to sponsor one walker, so this is offer is first-come, first-serve.
If you'd like to walk in the event, just follow any of the links in this post to the web site to find a local event and sign up. It's also simple to sign up to be a Team Captain--all you need is at least nine people to be on your team. You can form family teams, community teams, or even corporate teams with your co-workers. Team Captains need to sign up early so that they'll have plenty of time to build their teams and prepare them for the event, so if that's something that's on your heart, don't waste any time getting started.
UPDATE: My Little Tribe is hosting a contest to help raise money for her Memory Walk team. The rules:
1 entry for every 5.00 you donate to sponsor Team Martin. (Use this page to directly sponsor Team Martin. OR paypal carla AT mylittletribe DOT com, if you prefer not to use a credit card, and I will add it to the sponsor totals and send the check.)
Additional entries can be earned by:
1 entry for linking to My Little Tribe and blogging about this contest.
1 entry for signing up to walk in your local Memory Walk.
If I don't get any takers for sponsorship by September 6th (my next payday), I'll be signing up to sponsor that team.
4 comments:
Thank you for your promotion of the the Memory Walk...although I am not walking this year, the event itself is dear to my heart. My grandmother suffered for over a decade with this disease before she was called to rest peacefully. This is a disease that affects families, not just the afflicted, meaning the feelings of despair and helpless are more widespread. The Memory Walk serves not only as a fundraiser for research and treatment, but as a support group for all of those who have lived with Alzheimer's in their lives. Thanks for spreading the word!
Unfortunately, there's not a local event in my state. Maybe you were looking in the wrong place? I found three in your state following the links in your post:
http://www.alz.org/memorywalk/findawalk_results.asp?FormSent=1&ZipSearch=&MaxDistance=30&AllWalks=1&ChapterID=147&SearchByChapterName=SEARCH&WalkStates=OK
From what I can tell from your blog, this is the closest one to you:
http://www.kintera.org/FAF/home/default.asp?ievent=228696
So go, walk! Win a Glamour Shots package! Just be sure to post the pictures here!
When I searched my state, it only turned up two, with the "closest" being OKC, which isn't close at all. I thought it was weird that Tulsa wasn't participating. I'm glad to see that they are.
My not walking is more of a time issue than distance, though. I just don't have any time to give. I still want to sponsor somebody, though, so my offer still stands if there are any takers.
Valerie: {{{HUGS}}}
Thank you THANK YOU for mentioning my contest.
I'd really love to reach my goal :)
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