North Thompson residents are invited to join a team to participate in the Investors Group Walk for Alzheimer’s and show their support for people who face dementia. The event is Canada’s largest fundraiser for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias and takes place here and in 21 other communities across B.C. on Sunday, May 7.
The Walk is a fun and family-friendly event and is unique to each community. Each Walk is dedicated to an honouree – someone who has been affected by dementia. In Barriere the honouree is Joyce Harrington. Her story is the public face of the Walk and a reminder of why participants walk.
While you can walk in honour of Joyce, the Alzheimer Society of B.C. also encourages walking in honour or memory of someone in your life who has faced dementia.
“Teams are incredibly important to this event,” says Jennifer Cameron, Events Officer at the Alzheimer Society of B.C. “Many Walk teams include people living with dementia, care partners, or those with a personal connection to the disease on them, so walking on a team with friends and family is a very powerful and meaningful experience. It helps all of us who have been touched by dementia feel, in a very tangible way, that we are not alone and that we can make a difference.”
Creating or joining a team is easy. Simply go to: walkforalzheimers.ca, select ‘Barriere’ from the pull-down menu and follow the prompts.
Teams that raise more than $250 between Feb. 1 and Mar. 14 will be entered to win $500 in Air Canada gift cards.
The funds raised by Investors Group Walk for Alzheimer’s support programs, education and services in Barriere and across B.C. They also contribute towards awareness activities and research into the causes of and cure for dementia. Last year in B.C. the event raised more than $813,000.
“When you walk, you make memories matter,” says Cameron. “You honour those who have passed and acknowledge the work that must be done to ensure help and hope for those living with the disease today.”
For more information or to register today visit: walkforalzheimers.ca.
The Barriere Investors Group Walk for Alzheimer’s takes place at the North Thompson Fall Fair facility, 677 Barriere Lakes Road, on Sunday, May 7, 2017. Registration opens at 10 a.m., and the Walk from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. For more information on the Barriere Walk contact: Liz Gilbertson 250-672-9330, or Margaret Houben 250-672-9337.
About dementia
Dementia is a term that describes a general group of brain disorders. Symptoms include the loss of memory, impaired judgment, and changes in behaviour and personality. Dementia is progressive, degenerative and eventually terminal.
About the Alzheimer Society of B.C.
Families across British Columbia are affected by Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias. The Alzheimer Society of B.C.’s ultimate vision is a world without dementia; that vision begins with a world where people living with the disease are welcomed, acknowledged and included. Working in communities throughout the province, the Society supports, educates and advocates for people with dementia, as well as enabling research into the disease. As part of a national federation, the Society is a leading authority on the disease in Canada.
