LA PLATA, Md. – Hundreds of Southern Maryland residents will unite in a movement to reclaim the future for millions by participating in the 2023 Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s on Saturday, Sept. 23. Walks will be held in La Plata at the La Plata Town Hall and in Solomons at Asbury Solomons.
The two Walks, which have been held in the Southern Maryland community for the last 25 years, welcome new teams and participants and look forward to seeing familiar faces that return each year as families and friends come together for the annual fundraising and awareness events.
Asbury Solomons has hosted Walk to End Alzheimer’s since 1998, and Team Care Blairs has been participating in that Walk since 2003. Comprised of sisters Betsy Blair, Susan Dudley, Terrie Harney, and their mother Marian Blair, the team walks in honor of father and husband Matt Blair, who lost his battle with Alzheimer’s in 2011. The Care Blairs have been top fundraisers each year, and currently are the top team for the Solomons Walk, with more than $4,000 raised to date. “I walk for my Dad. I miss him every day,” said team captain Betsy Blair. “I walk to honor him and to bring attention to this disease and hopefully diminish the toll it may take on future generations.”
The Southern Maryland Boot Scooters, led by team captain Leslie Harvey, are a powerhouse team that has participated since 2015 in the Walk in Charles County, raising tens of thousands of dollars through personal fundraising efforts and team special events, including their annual benefit dance and designer purse bingo. The team has raised almost $28,000 toward their goal of $30,000 this year.
“Many of our team members have family or friends impacted by this disease,” said Harvey. “Our goal is to see the white flower held by survivors of this terrible disease.” Harvey knows all too well the devastation that Alzheimer’s can have on a family. “I have five family members that have passed with Alzheimer’s,” she continued. “This disease took the life of my grandmother, my Aunt Lucille, my Aunt Alice, my brother Doug and just recently my mother. I don’t ever want to look at my kids and not know who they are, so my motto is ‘I will strive … to keep it at Five’.”
The Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. The event features a poignant Promise Garden ceremony — a mission-focused experience that signifies the solidarity of the Walk participants in the fight against the disease. The colors of the Promise Garden flowers represent people’s personal connection to Alzheimer’s:
- Blue: Someone living with Alzheimer’s or another dementia.
- Purple: An individual who has lost someone to the disease.
- Yellow: A person who is currently supporting or caring for someone living with Alzheimer’s.
- Orange: A participant who supports the cause and the Association’s vision of a world without Alzheimer’s and other dementia.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, an estimated 6.7 million Americans age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s disease, including 110,000 in Maryland. More 247,000 Marylanders are among the 11 million Americans who provide unpaid care to someone living with Alzheimer’s. The estimated value of that unpaid care nationwide is valued at over $339 billion dollars.
“We’re closer than ever to stopping Alzheimer’s,” said Cindy Schelhorn, a spokesperson with the Alzheimer’s Association National Capital Area Chapter. “We hope that everyone in the Southern Maryland community will be inspired to join us, either as a team or as an individual walker. Together, we can raise awareness and funds for families facing the disease today, take more steps toward treatments, and finally end this disease.”
Registration for the Walk in La Plata will open at 8:30 a.m. The ceremony will begin at 9:30 a.m., followed by the Walk. Registration for the Walk in Solomons also opens at 8:30, with the ceremony beginning at 9 a.m. Participation is free; however, participants are encouraged to raise funds. For more information and to register, visit alz.org/ncawalks. Day of registrations are welcome.
Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s®
The Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Since 1989, the Alzheimer’s Association mobilized millions of Americans in the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk®; now the Alzheimer’s Association is continuing to lead the way with Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Together, we can end Alzheimer’s.
Alzheimer’s Association®
The Alzheimer’s Association is a worldwide voluntary health organization dedicated to Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Its mission is to lead the way to end Alzheimer’s and all other dementia — by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection, and maximizing quality care and support. Visit alz.org or call 800.272.3900.