Walk to End Alzheimer's goes virtual
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 7 months AGO
A participant in the 2019 Walk to End Alzheimer's picks a flower prior to the walk. The 2020 walk is going virtual as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | September 4, 2020 1:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — Registration is open for the Moses Lake 2020 Walk to End Alzheimer’s, scheduled for Sept. 12.
Leslie Woodfill, one of the organizers, said the COVID-19 outbreak will mean the walk is going virtual. The official start time is 10 a.m., but there’s no common course.
“Walk in your neighborhood, walk on your favorite trail, but still just walk,” she said.
Traditionally, the Alzheimer’s walk starts with a ceremony in memory of Alzheimer’s patients. The tradition will be continued, but with a twist. The ceremony has been recorded and will be shown at 9:30 a.m. on social media the day of the walk.
Walkers traditionally carry flower-petal pinwheels in different colors, signifying how the disease has affected them. (Colors identify caregivers, family members and Alzheimer’s patients.) For 2020 the pinwheels will be on display on Sept. 12 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Civic Park, behind the Moses Lake Civic Center.
Walkers will receive a banner they can carry on their individual walks.
“We encourage people to take those around the neighborhood,” Woodfill said.
People can sign up for the walk at https://act.alz.org and find the local event by ZIP code.
The money raised is used locally to help pay for support groups for people with Alzheimer’s and their families, to provide education about the disease and to fund treatment and research into its causes.
“We just need all the help we can get, especially this year,” Woodfill said.
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