Memory Walk 2008: Step up to the challenge

While the 2008 Iowa Lakes Memory Walk is fast approaching, there's still time to put your best foot forward and get involved -- whether by yourself or as part of a team.

Memory Walk, coming Sunday, Sept. 21 to Spencer's East Leach Park, is the largest nationwide fundraising event that benefits research and support programs for individuals and families fighting Alzheimer's disease -- over 2,000 older adults in Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Palo Alto and Buena Vista counties. Funds for Memory Walk are generated through pledges collected by walkers to meet individual or team goals, but there's still an opportunity to join a team, or start one of your own with your friends, co-workers, or family members.

Registration for the Memory Walk will begin at 1 p.m., with the walk to follow. After the walk concludes, prizes will be awarded and a silent auction will feature a bonanza of items donated by generous local individuals and businesses, including a pair of diamond earrings from Stevens Jewelry in Spencer.

This year's event will mark the tenth anniversary of the original Iowa Lakes Memory Walk, also held at East Leach Park. It is also World Alzheimer's Day--a day on which organizations all over the world raise awareness about the 24 million people on earth with Alzheimer's disease or some other form of dementia--over five million of them here in the United States.

Performing at the Iowa Lakes Memory Walk will be pastor and songwriter Lonny Carpenter. Carpenter, a native of Lake Benton, Minn., recently wrote and recorded a song called "Please Don't Let Me Forget You" inspired by his own family's experience caring for his aunt after her diagnosis with Alzheimer's.

The support of local and national sponsors has also made it possible to participate online. By visiting the Alzheimer's Association website at www.alz.org/siouxland, you can set up personal and team webpages and involve friends and family across the country by e-mail--even if they can't make it to the Walk.

Sponsors include the Spencer-area memory loss support group facilitated by Blaine and Dorothy Hirt of Arnolds Park. The group has been meeting on the last Monday evening of every month at Spencer's Bethany Lutheran Church for over twenty years.

The Alzheimer's Association's Memory Walk, presented by Genworth Financial, is the largest national fundraising event for support programs for Alzheimer's disease and is held in 680 communities nationwide. Americans who have participated in these walks have raised approximately $150 million for programs and services to support individuals with Alzheimer's disease.

Memory Walk is presented throughout Iowa by Care Initiatives and DEX Media. Additional major local sponsors of the Iowa Lakes Memory Walk include Hilltop Care Center of Spirit Lake; Farmers Trust and Savings Bank, Spencer; Energy Panel Structures, Graettinger; Greenville Congregational Church; the Seasons Center for Community Mental Health; Cargo/A&W; Lakeside Lutheran Home, Emmetsburg; Phil & Siri Christy and Family; DermUs Skincare; Jeffclo Transportation, Spencer; Sunshine Services Inc., Spencer; the Vandehaar Family; and WEL-Life at Spirit Lake.

* For more information about participating in the Iowa Lakes Memory Walk or to make a donation, contact the Alzheimer's Association at 800-272-3900 or visit www.alz.org/siouxland.