The annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s® Jacksonville will take place on Saturday, November 5, at UNF
The Walk to End Alzheimer’s® Jacksonville will take place on Saturday, November 5, at the University of North Florida’s J. B. Coxwell Amphitheatre.
Held in more than 600 communities nationwide throughout the year, the Jacksonville event is devoted to raising funds to support the more than 580,000 Floridians - one in nine 65 and over - currently living with Alzheimer’s, including16,000 Duval County residents.
Walkers pluck and carry colored flowers in a Promise Garden with each color representing the role they play in caring for a loved one with the disease.
The Promise Garden is described as a mission-focused experience that signifies solidarity in fighting to find a cure for this insidious disease. Blue flowers represent those currently living with Alzheimer’s or dementia. Purple flowers represent someone’s who’s lost a loved to Alzheimer’s. Yellow flowers signify a caretaker caring for a Alzheimer’s patient and orange flowers represent everyone who desires to live in a world void of Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Leading the planning and execution of the Jacksonville event, Trevor Harkness, a partner at Jacksonville’s BKS-Partners - a local brokerage firm, describes the day as an opportunity to help thousands of Floridians living with the diagnosis.
“Twenty years ago, I experienced firsthand the heartache and challenges of Alzheimer’s when I lost my grandmother to disease,” he said. “Over the years, Walk to End Alzheimer’s has been tremendously impactful for increasing the awareness of Alzheimer’s in our community and advancing important research.”
“Walk to End Alzheimer’s is our chance to come together and show our support for our family members, neighbors and friends who are currently coping with this disease,” said Michelle Jarjoura, Walk manager for Jacksonville. “I know firsthand the struggle that caregivers feel when a loved one is impacted by this disease; that’s why it’s important to let them know they are not alone. With the help of our amazing Jacksonville community, I know we will one day see a world without Alzheimer’s and other dementia.”
But what is Alzheimer’s? Alzheimer’s Disease is a brain disorder that affects memory, thinking and behavior. The Mayo Clinic describes the progressive disease as a neurological disorder that causes the brain to shrink and brain cells to die. As a result, Alzheimer patients “develop severe memory impairment and lose the ability to carry out everyday tasks,” they said.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, 6.5 million Americans currently live with Alzheimer’s. Noted as the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, one in three Americans over the age of 65 will die of Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia. One in five women will develop the disease compared to one in 10 men. To date, over 11 million family members serve as daily, unpaid caregivers.
In 2022, Alzheimer’s cost the United States $321 billion, a number projected to cha-ching to $1 trillion by 2050 - with more than double of Americans over 65 suffering from the disease - if a medical breakthrough doesn’t cure or stunt the disease. While there’s presently no cure, drug and non-drug treatments are being tested. The Mayo Clinic states that Alzheimer’s “medications can help, for a time, with memory symptoms and other cognitive changes, but they don’t prevent Alzheimer’s disease from progressing.”
There is also speculation among the medical community that diet and exercise and diet may help to lower the risk of Alzheimer’s. Studies are currently underway.
Register your team today at alz.org/Jacksonville.
For more information, please call the 24/7 Helpline at 800-272-3900 (available 365 days a year) or visit alz.org
Registration at 8 a.m. | Ceremony at 9 a.m. | Walk at 9:30 a.m.
University of North Florida at the J. B. Coxwell Amphitheater | 1 UNF Dr Jacksonville, FL 32224 | Map it
Route length: a short route less than one mile and a long route less than 2 miles
Contact: Michelle Jarjoura, 904-326-3114 x1404, mhjarjoura@alz.org
