September 2012

The Promise Garden at last year’s Peachtree City Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Photo: Dan Nelson.

You’re in the minority if you don’t know someone affected by Alzheimer’s Disease. In Georgia alone, there are over 200,000 patients and many more thousands of caregivers. The Alzheimer’s Association fights the disease through research, enhanced care and support, and promotion of brain health to reduce the risk of dementia.

The association’s Georgia Chapter sponsors the Southern Crescent Walk to End Alzheimer’s, coming to Peachtree City for its thirteenth year on Saturday, October 6. The parking lot of the Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater will serve as headquarters. A satellite walk in Coweta will be held at Newnan’s Ashley Park on Saturday, September 29. All funds raised will remain in Georgia to help Georgians.

There are a variety of ways to participate: financial or in-kind donations; individual or team walking (or running); and sponsorships. More than a thousand participants are expected from seven counties: Coweta, Clayton, Fayette, Fulton, Henry, Meriwether, and Spalding. Registration begins at 8:00 am and walking at 9:30. Routes for both the main walk and a “mini-walk” have plenty of shade and water stations. A golf cart will be on standby for anyone who can’t complete the walk.

The upbeat, family-friendly event includes balloon animals from the Clowns With New Hope; music by the Peachtree Jazz Edition; memory boards for sharing comments about friends or loved ones; the Promise Garden display; and prize drawings for donors. The Kiwanis Club of Peachtree City will prepare a free lunch of hamburgers and hot dogs.

Over $2,000,000 has been raised since the first walk in 2000. For more information or to make an online donation, visit www.southernalzwalk.org.